Turning Points
by WynterSky
Summary: Itachi refuses the critical mission and flees the village with Sasuke. Several years later, Sasuke wants to take the Chuunin exams, but all the Uchiha are believed dead...slight NaruSaku SasuHina, mostly gen...Now starting Part II!
1. Part I, Chapter 1: Fly by Night

A/N:

I kind of massaged the age gap a bit here. Itachi is 12 and Sasuke is 6. Also, the entire story is outlined into three parts, in which the first and second will stand separate from the third. This story takes me a lot longer to write (as it's stressful for me to write scenes that are stressful to the characters), but I really like it.

Part I

Chapter 1: Fly-by-Night

"With all due respect, Danzou-sama, I cannot accept this mission."

There was silence for a moment. Thinking that this would not be the best time to look up from his kneeling position, Itachi focused on one of the cracks in the cold concrete floor. It meandered to the right until it intersected with another crack, making a shape like a shuriken where they met.

"Do you defy the council then, Uchiha?" Danzou said finally. Itachi pulled his attention away from the floor and looked up, but the Root leader's face was inscrutable, even for someone as good as reading people as the Uchiha prodigy.

"You know that I have the utmost loyalty to Konoha," Itachi replied calmly after collecting his thoughts for a moment. "I have done all that was asked of me and more. I would never refuse a mission if I felt it to be for the good of the village, but _this_...my own _family_...this is unthinkable."

Frowning, Danzou leaned back in his chair, toying with the scroll that held the mission details. Itachi watched him apprehensively. Those who defied Danzou often 'disappeared' discreetly—but he couldn't meekly obey this time. After a tense silence, Danzou was the first to speak. "Very well," he said, closing his eyes (the visible one, anyway) and waving Itachi away with one hand. "I understand. You may go."

A bit puzzled by his luck, but pleased that he had gotten away unscathed, Itachi stood and began to turn away. He caught a flash of movement in his peripheral vision just too late to dodge a blow that threw him to the floor as the other members of his ANBU team tackled him. Cursing himself for being stupid enough not to expect an attack, he turned on his sharingan and faced the first assailant, only to be pinned from behind and blindfolded by the other two.

"I sympathize with your attatchment to your family," he heard Danzou say as the Root leader's footsteps passed where Itachi was being restrained by his one-time comrades-in-arms. "You'll see them again soon...after your execution for their murder."

Itachi managed to snarl some very, very uncharitable things about Danzou's ancestry before he was knocked unconscious.

...

When he came to, he found himself chained to the wall of a high-security ANBU holding cell. All his weapons were gone, but his armor had not been stripped off, which was a relief. Unfortunately, all his attempts to reach his secret escape kit—a minute rice paper weapons-summoning scroll hidden in the flange of his breastplate—only got him bruised wrists and scraped fingers. At last, after several minutes of trying, he managed to catch the end between two fingers, but the fragile paper tore as he tugged on it. Mentally cursing the wretched object for wasting precious time (he had no idea how long he'd been out, he could already be to late) he forced himself to work more gently. Finally, after he had almost given up hope of ever getting the thing loose, it snapped out of the curve of metal that held it. Before Itachi could improve his grip on the scroll, however, it flew out of his grasp and landed in the far corner of the cell, where it burst open. Ducking away from the resultant shower of weapons, he hoped the noise would not attract the attention of a guard.

A senbon gleamed tantalizingly, just within reach of his foot. _Just the ticket_, Itachi thought, kicking it back to where he could reach it and start picking the lock on the shackles that held him. The senbon snapped off short, but not before a satisfying _clink_ let him know that the catch had been released. With his now-free hand, Itachi grabbed another senbon and set to work on the other lock. As he could now turn to see what he was doing and had a much larger range of motion, it proved to be much less challenging than the first. Almost before it freed him, he was up and moving, gathering up as many kunai and shuriken as he could fit into his belt and pockets and flashing through the handseals required to blow the door out with a fireball.

Darting out of the cell and into the corridor, Itachi noted with surprise that there were no guards. Danzou must be very confident if he left someone as dangerous as the vaunted Uchiha prodigy unguarded—but then Danzou was nothing if not confident. The next thing Itachi noticed was rather more disturbing. Through the windows he could see dark sky and constellations, and it had only been mid-afternoon when he had been summoned to ANBU headquarters. When he first saw the orange glow against the night, he gave up on finding his way out through the winding corridors and leapt through one of the wide panes of glass, ignoring the sharp pang as one of the myriad slivers of glass cut his shoulder. Almost before he landed he was up again, vaulting across rooftops and perching atop a telephone pole from which he could see the Uchiha compound.

Danzou had not wasted his time.

All that Itachi could past the compound walls were flames, and he had a feeling it wouldn't be any better from a closer vantage point. Still, perhaps he could do something. ANBU couldn't have taken everyone by surprise—except that they could. Itachi was in ANBU, therefore the Uchiha had no reason to expect an attack from that quarter, not without some warning at least.

A shuriken whipped past Itachi's head, taking a few strands of hair with it. ANBU must still be around then; perhaps they had been expecting him to escape? Jumping down from the telephone pole to a nearby roof, he began to circle the compound, dodging the tagged kunai that his pursuer was throwing at him while trying to see if there was any building that hadn't gone up in flames yet.

The main house sat in the center of the compound. Before tonight, it had been nestled in a grove of Japanese maples and cherry trees, but the trees he had sparred under with Shisui were nothing but black, charred skeletons now. As far as he could see through the smoking trees, most of the main house had either collapsed or exploded, but a few rooms in the back still appeared to be standing. One of them was Sasuke's bedroom...praying that his little brother had stayed in his room instead of running outside and being cut down, Itachi vaulted into the compound.

It was horribly still inside the walls. The only sounds were Itachi's harsh breathing and the crackle of flames from the smoldering houses—Itachi knew what he would find if he searched and forced himself not to. Strangely, his ANBU pursuer had stopped attacking him, although Itachi could sense his chakra signature somewhere on the roofs behind him.

Ducking quickly through the charred trees surrounding what was left of his house, he shattered Sasuke's bedroom window and jumped inside, landing silently on the floor. The remnants of the house seemed to be holding together, but who knew how long that would last. The sudden collapse of the rest of the house must have smothered any flames, but the room was still filled with thick gray smoke.

Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. "Otouto!" Itachi called softly, coughing as he inhaled some of the smoke.

"Nii-san?" Sasuke's quiet answer and subsequent fit of coughs came from under the bed.

Itachi sighed in relief at the assurance his brother was still alive and promptly started choking on the smoke again. "It's safe, come on out," he said, kneeling down so he could reach under the bed to take Sasuke's hand and pull him out.

"Nii-san, what's going on?" Sasuke asked, looking around the smoke-filled room.

"I'll explain later, we have to get out of here." Itachi replied quickly. The ceiling had begun to creak ominously and he doubted it would hold much longer.

Sasuke was only wearing a thin nightshirt, but there was no time to get him dressed, so Itachi wrapped him in one of the quilts off the bed before picking him up. "Hold on to me," he ordered, beginning to form the first seal in the teleportation jutsu.

"Nii-san, wait!" Sasuke wailed, pounding on Itachi's armoured chest with soft fists and kicking hard enough that Itachi had to either set him down or risk dropping him.

"What _is_ it?" Itachi snapped, losing his calm; the roof would go any moment and he was beginning to sense more chakra signatures outside.

"We have to save Risu-tan!" Sasuke announced determinedly before diving under the bed again.

_Of course, save the poor innocent stuffed animal... _Itachi thought, taking a family photograph from Sasuke's nightstand and tucking it behind his breastplate in the short time it took for Sasuke to retrieve his beloved toy.

Squirrel in hand now, Sasuke let Itachi drape the quilt around him and scoop him up again. "Ne, Nii-san, aren't Tou-san and Kaa-san coming with us?" he asked as Itachi again began the teleportation jutsu.

Itachi froze in mid-seal. "Sasuke, they...they can't..." frantically, he tried to think of a way to explain what had happened without breaking down himself. He had shut off the part of his brain that had realized the tragedy and he couldn't afford to release all the pent-up emotions now.

He had never expected to be relieved by an attack, but the tagged kunai suddenly flung through the window gave him the perfect excuse not to answer the question. Dropping to the floor, careful to shield Sasuke beneath him, he flashed through the rest of the seals in record time and felt the familiar tugging, rushing sensation as the jutsu activated a split second before the tags exploded, collapsing the rest of the house.

...

They fell to the grass somewhere which, as far as Itachi could tell, was outside Konoha proper and somewhat to the west. Sasuke was huddled into his chest, breathing raggedly; this was his first experience travelling this way, and Itachi knew how disorienting it could be until one got used to it. Still, there was no time to waste. They had to get moving, and that as quickly as possible.

Shifting his grip on Sasuke so that he had one hand free but was at no risk of dropping the child, Itachi bounded into the trees, picking up speed to the near-flying pace he was used to from ANBU missions. By the time he stopped, the moon had shifted position far enough that he felt sure no pursuers would be anywhere near them.

Carefully selecting a safe-looking but still easily defensible clearing, Itachi leapt down and gently nestled Sasuke in the roots of a massive oak tree before sitting protectively beside him. Twining his fingers absently into his sleeping brother's still baby-soft hair, he began to consider what options they had for the future.

Obviously, they would have to leave the Land of Fire entirely. With any luck, and if they kept moving, they would be believed dead and could remain in relative safety, but it would be difficult to have any kind of a livelihood.

Akatsuki was what worried him most. Until now, he had categorically refused their clandestine advances, but the clan could no longer shelter him. If it weren't for Sasuke, the logical choice would be to go to them (even if he hated what they stood for), but an international terrorist organization was no place for a child.

He was shocked out of his reverie when he realized that Sasuke's hair was no longer under his fingers. Instaneously alert, he whirled around only to see that Sasuke, now awake, had only moved over about a foot and was staring at him sulkily from behind his bangs. "Nii-san, stop _petting_ me!"

Itachi, remembering how Sasuke had always hated his aunts (and various other female relatives) fussing over him at parties, did not press the issue. The thought of his relatives brought up a fresh pang of grief but he squelched it forcefully. "Sasuke, are you alright?"

Sasuke nodded. "I'm fine...only my eyes hurt."

Itachi was at his brother's side almost instantaneously. "Here, let me see," he said, brushing Sasuke's bangs out of his face and gently tilting his head back so the moonlight fell on his eyes—which were now blood red. "It's probably from the smoke," he lied, hoping Sasuke wouldn't see how worried he was. "Blink a few times and it should go away."

This was a new difficulty. The Sharingan had never been intended to be activated this early; while Itachi had attained his at a surprisingly young age, this was a bit of an anomaly. Sasuke was not a prodigy, and there was a very real risk of his going blind if he began to use the Sharingan, not to mention the added complication of the two of them remaining concealed.

Yawning, Sasuke put his arms around his brother's waist and promptly fell asleep again: Itachi decided that the worrying could wait—he had his brother and that was all that mattered.


	2. Part I, Chapter 2: Liabilities

[A/N: This fic is getting longer and longer; I had to split this chapter. Also, I don't own Naruto...if I did it would be in Shoujo Beat.]

Chapter 2: Liabilities

(Six years later:)

Sasuke woke slowly, pleasant dreams reluctant to let him go. Looking fuzzily about, he jolted fully awake as he realized that he was alone in the room. "Nii-san?"

There was no answer.

Common sense told him that there was nothing to worry about, that Itachi was probably just seeing about breakfast or something, but his emotions told him that he was alone in a closed room and he had to _get out_.

Jumping out of bed, he ran over to the door and tried the knob. It was not locked, he noted with relief, but he opened it a few inches...just in case. Now that there was a clear escape route, he felt much better. Itachi had said that they would be leaving on a new mission this morning, so Sasuke began to gather his things—there were not many of them, as he and Itachi had never stayed in one place long enough to accumulate possessions.

Gently pulling Risu-tan out from under his pillow—it would _never_ do to let Itachi find out he still slept with the little squirrel—he stroked what was left of the toy's worn fur before tucking her into his satchel. While Risu-tan had certainly seen better days, he could never discard her. Besides the faded photograph Itachi carried, the squirrel was all that was left of their old life.

Sasuke barely remembered anything about their family: he had vague images of Kaa-san, who was pretty, and Tou-san, who was nothing more than a tall blur with dark hair. Itachi remembered more. Sometimes he would ask if Sasuke remembered cousin Shisui, or Yuriko, or Ayame-baa-chan, and Sasuke would lie and say he did, because he knew this pleased his brother.

Carefully, he checked to make sure Itachi's kunai were sorted properly according to weight and blade type before putting them in their case. There was one missing, and Sasuke nearly turned the room upside-down looking for it before he remembered that he had used it to prop the door open. As he bent to pick it up, he heard voices filtering up the stairs. One of them was Itachi's; the other he recognized as a Kumo missing-nin they had been on one or two missions with.

Sasuke didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help being curious as he edged the door open a little more and peered out.

"And what, exactly, are you proposing I do?" Itachi was saying. His voice was even, but Sasuke could just catch the edge in it that meant his brother's carefully cultivated control was slipping.

"Does it matter? Kill him, sell him, give him to an orphanage—just get rid of the kid! He's a weakness, and shinobi can't afford weaknesses!"

The voices dropped below Sasuke's hearing again, and he backed away from the door, certain that Itachi would not be pleased to find him listening._It's not my fault I'm a burden!_ he fumed, bundling his clothes into the satchel that contained everything he owned. _Nii-san won't train me!_

This was not entirely true. Itachi had taught him several simple fire jutsu and a fairly large assortment of medical techniques, but nothing above a basic level. Except...

Sasuke glanced into the hall: Itachi was still talking. Slipping into the bathroom, Sasuke leaned on the cold porcelain sink and stared deeply into the mirror. Tousled dark hair fell past his shoulders as he brushed a few stray locks out of his eyes. "_Sharingan_," he whispered, watching as onyx swirled into crimson. Then, "_Mangekyou_."

Genjutsu tugged insistently at his consciousness and he succumbed to its warmth. Fading and shifting, the scene around him began to change from a shabby inn to a traditional house, and he turned eagerly to explore it. As he ran through the cherry trees surrounding the house into the garden, he thought he could hear someone calling, faintly, from very far away, but he ignored it.

"Sasuke! _Sasuke!_"

He frowned. "Hello?" The distant voice seemed familiar, but Sasuke could see no one as he looked around the garden—the place was absolutely deserted. "Where are you?" he shouted. A cold wind whipped through his hair, and suddenly it was dark. Shivering, he fled back into the house. "Is anyone here?"

Thinking he might have heard something, Sasuke pushed open a door, only to be confronted by flames. He turned to go back, but found himself already surrounded by a blazing orange wall. "Where are you!" he called again, choking on hot smoke. "Help me!"

...

Just as the tongues of flame began to lick at his clothes, Sasuke felt himself being jerked backwards. As he fell, the scenery changed until he found himself sitting on the floor of the dingy bathroom, gasping dizzily at the cool air.

"And _what_ were you trying to do just now, Otouto?"

Sasuke looked up to see Itachi standing in the doorway. "N-nii-san! How did you—"

Itachi cut him off. "You're lucky I decided to check on your packing before I went to get our supplies. You know what I've told you about using the Sharingan outside of emergencies; what possessed you, to cast genjutsu on yourself?"

"I...I don't know," Sasuke mumbled, ashamed and not wanting to admit he'd been eavesdropping. "I'm sorry."

Itachi sighed before leaning down to ruffle Sasuke's hair. "Well, it can't be helped, I suppose. Finish packing, we'll have to leave right away before someone decides to investigate the chakra surge...how does ramen sound for breakfast?"

"You wouldn't!" Sasuke wailed in mock horror. "I promise I'll be good if only you won't make me eat ramen!"

"Don't worry, I'm not that unscrupulous," Itachi laughed, shouldering his backpack. "Come on, we've got a new mission."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked eagerly, tossing the rest of his things haphazardly into his satchel and slinging it over his shoulder. "Let's go!" he shouted, practically shoving Itachi down to the front desk and out into the hot, dusty street.

The worst thing about staying in Suna was the ubiquitous sand. It was everywhere; in the air, in the food—even water often had to be strained. Hopefully their new mission would take them somewhere else. Maybe they would end up in Fire Country! Sasuke decided that this would be unlikely, however. Itachi stayed as far away from Fire Country as possible at all times, although he refused to explain why. He had never told Sasuke exactly why they fled Konoha, either. Whenever Sasuke would ask, Itachi would give a vague answer about clan rivalry and how they were safer outside the village, but if it was only a clan feud, why had they never run into any other members of the clan? Surely they couldn't have been the only ones who left.

Sulkily, Sasuke scuffed at the sand coating the cobblestone street. He wasn't a baby anymore! Itachi had to realize that!

"Sasuke!"

Turning to answer Itachi, Sasuke started in surprise when he saw that his brother was no longer next to him. Had they been attacked? Was it an ambush?

"Back _here_, Otouto!"

Oh. The market. Lost in thought, Sasuke had walked straight past it without noticing Itachi stop.

"We're not getting any ramen, are we?" he asked suspiciously as he joined his brother.

"No, just shinobi rations. What is it with you and ramen, anyway?" Itachi asked, selecting a few small brown boxes. They didn't look like much, but each carried enough dehydrated food to last for a week.

"Three years ago," Sasuke reminded Itachi coldly, "we had nothing to eat but instant ramen. For an _entire month_. Don't you remember?"

"That's nothing," Itachi laughed. "During a training test once I lived for two weeks on tree bark and raw fish. I would have _killed_ for ramen at the end of it."

Sasuke snorted dubiously. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Wait until we're outside the village, Otouto."

It must be one of _those_ kind of missions. Itachi didn't like _those_ missions, but he took them because as a missing-nin, there were few other choices, even though he and Sasuke weren't in any of the official bingo books yet. Sasuke didn't really care what kinds of missions they went on as long as it meant they could be together.

...

Itachi laid out the details of the mission as they left the village by the east gate. Their destination was River Country, to Sasuke's great delight. There, they would be ambushing a small party bound for Wind Country, comprising the daughter of the Frost Country daimyo and her attendants escorted by a Konoha genin team and their Sensei. Apparently, there was a very complicated political reason for Itachi to kidnap the princess, involving treaties and bridal contracts and some such, but Sasuke was to interested in the road to pay attention to that part.

"How long will it take to get there, Nii-san?" he interrupted.

"A few days, if we keep a good pace," Itachi replied. "Why, are you tired?" he added sharply.

"I'm fine, nii-san!" Sasuke protested. "I'm not a little kid any more."

Itachi sighed at this statement, and there was a strange look in his eyes. Sasuke wondered he had said wrong, but knew not to ask—his brother never liked it when Sasuke worried about him. Most of the time, Itachi put on a very good impression of being both a perfect ninja and older brother, but Sasuke had seen the other side, for all his attempts to hide it; seen him nearly panic when a mission went wrong, seen him break down when Sasuke asked what had happened to their parents.

He knew it was for his sake that Itachi pretended to be invincible, but sometimes wished he would be a little more _real_.

...

Travelling through the desert was miserable, no matter how many times they did it. As they neared the border of River Country after the first day, the air became slightly cooler and less stifling, but the dust and sand still stretched on and on.

"Ne, I—Kaede-nii-san," Sasuke began the next morning as they broke camp, "Wouldn't it make more sense to go to Fire Country, instead of River?"

Itachi glared at him for stumbling over the new alias, but answered the question just the same. "We don't go to Fire Country." It wasn't much of an answer. "Here, put this on," Itachi added, tossing Sasuke a light wooden mask.

"But there's nobody around for ages!" Sasuke protested, looking down at the smooth painted surface. The main part was white, with two blue swirls surrounding the eye-holes. Itachi's was the same, except with the colors reversed.

"All the more reason, _Yuki_-kun," Itachi said inexorably, emphasizing the false name as he put on his own mask.

Sighing as the cool, polished wood settled against his face, Sasuke obeyed, tying the fastening ribbon securely behind his head. There was no more time for playful banter—they had to be shinobi now.

...

[A/N: I didn't mean to make Sasuke seem so whiny, but I needed to establish some of his issues and his relationship with Itachi. Later there'll be some one-shots set between Chapter 1&2, but I wanted to get straight to the plot for now.]


	3. Part I, Chapter 3: Encounters

[A/N: I put a poll up on my profile concerning what story I should begin next, please vote! Yet again, I don't own Naruto.]

Chapter 3: Encounters

They sighted the little caravan at sundown of the third day, but did not approach it. From their vantage point (nestled in a small cave atop a hill looking over the Kazan Road) the two of them could see every action and count every person in the group.

It was unusually small, which Itachi found strange. Surely a princess in danger of kidnapping would be guarded by more than four people? When he had first read the details, he had assumed they were incorrect, but it seemed he was mistaken.

There was a soft thump and a gasp from behind him, and Itachi glanced back to see that Sasuke had tripped over the long hem of his tunic again. He seemed unhurt, so Itachi pretended he hadn't noticed while making a mental note to get Sasuke some new pants. He hadn't been able to keep up with his little brother's latest growth spurt, hence the tunic, but this job should pay enough for new clothes and equipment for both of them.

"Nii-san, can I go get some water?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, that would be a good idea," Itachi replied somewhat distractedly, adjusting his binoculars in an attempt to get a good view of the princess. "The waterskin's with my things. Make sure no-one sees you."

"Of course no one will see me!" There was an easily discernible offended pout in Sasuke's reply. "I'll be right back," he added as he ducked out of the cave.

Itachi nodded absently even though Sasuke was already gone, then stiffened in surprise as the binoculars focused in on a very familiar head of silver hair.

...

Kakashi frowned as he surveyed their campsite. Something wasn't adding up; the princess was clearly on edge, and more than would normally be expected from pre-wedding nerves, but her two maids were acting as if nothing was wrong, or even out of the ordinary. Perhaps they were plotting something? They were little enough of a threat, if so, as they were only civilians.

On a sudden whim, he edged away from the campsite and scanned the immediate area with the Sharingan, but detected nothing.

When he returned, Sakura was building a small fire, while Naruto was sitting by the princess and trying to cheer her up. Shikamaru was either still patrolling the perimeter of the campsite or dawdling about watching the sunset. As Naruto was talking very loudly (he never did anything quietly), Kakashi couldn't help overhearing some of the conversation.

"And I'm going to be the best ninja ever and everybody will know it and then I'll be the Hokage!"

"But what will you do then?"

Naruto was flummoxed for a moment, but quickly thought of an answer. "I'll have a week-long party and everybody in the village will get _free ramen!_"

"Ramen? What's ramen?"

Naruto looked at her as if she had asked what color the sky was. "You...don't know...about ramen?" Hurtling over to where Kakashi was trying to read his book in peace and covertly listen in at the same time, Naruto pounced. "Sensei! Sensei she doesn't know what ramen is we have to give her some because she doesn't know what it is!" He was fairly quivering with indignation, and Kakashi could barely hold back a laugh. Honestly, the kid would be annoying if he wasn't just so likeable. Just like his father...but Kakashi quickly put that train of thought out of his head.

"Now where are we going to get ramen out here?" he pointed out sensibly.

"Oh, that's easy! I've got lots! Do you think Kyoko-chan would like miso ramen best? Or chicken or shrimp or pork or—"

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura! Go get some water from the river. We're going to have ramen for supper."

...

Sasuke edged silently through the shrubbery bordering the river, being careful not to break any twigs or leave footprints. Dropping to his knees by the clear rushing water, he slid his mask off and was about to wash some of the desert dust off his face when a rustling sound from the opposite side of the river sent him swiftly back to the treeline.

The second thing he registered about the intruder was that she was a girl—the first was that she had bright pink hair. Itachi had told him about bloodline limits like their Sharingan, and he wondered if this was a result of one. Certainly, it was very eyecatching, and although he knew it was perhaps unwise, he couldn't help staying to watch. He rarely saw anyone near his own age besides Itachi's occasional attempts to put him in school, which never ended well.

The girl (Sasuke had mentally named her 'Hana') walked up to the riverbank with a surprisingly poor display of stealth for a ninja; for she was a ninja, Sasuke had seen a glint of metal in her hair that could be nothing but a forehead protector. Pressing close to the tree as the girl looked around in a horrendously obvious manner, he cautiously shifted aside a branch in order to see better.

Cheerfully singing to herself, the girl filled her bucket and set it on a flat rock, then tentatively set a foot glowing with chakra on the surface of the quickly-flowing water. It held, albeit somewhat shakily, and she followed it with the other foot. With both arms held out for balance, she carefully stepped into the middle of the river. Smiling triumphantly, she looked up and almost straight at Sasuke, who ducked back just in time to hear a splash and smothered cry of alarm.

Looking through the branches again, Sasuke could see that the girl had plunged completely beneath the surface of the water and did not, apparently, know how to swim. He couldn't just let her drown, whatever Itachi had said about staying out of sight, so he leapt out of the tree and ran to the water. Due to a rather lengthy stint in Whirlpool Country when he was around ten, he could swim quite well, and therefore had no trouble in reaching the floundering girl and hauling her to the bank.

"What did you think you were doing?" he snapped as the girl coughed up water and gasped for air.

"Practicing..." she replied between coughs. "Shikamaru could do it right away, and even Naruto after a little while so I—"

"That's all very well," he interrupted, "but water-walking on a fast river like that is practically asking to drown." Sasuke had learned this the hard way after a very embarrassing incident which had nearly caused Itachi to fail a high-paying mission. Right after he finished speaking, he realized he had repeated Itachi's scolding practically word-for-word.

"I'll remember that," the girl said, wringing out her skirt and retrieving her bucket. "Thank you for rescuing me. I'm Haruno Sakura, what's your name?"

"I—" Just then, he recognized the symbol on Sakura's forehead protector. She was a Konoha shinobi, and the princess was guarded by Konoha shinobi, and he might have just ruined the mission. "I should go."

He was gone into the trees before she could do more than blink.

...

Silently approaching the cave, Sasuke tied his mask back on before entering. Itachi was still watching the campsite through the binoculars, although he probably couldn't see much now that the sun was almost completely set.

"Ah, there you are. What took you so long?" Itachi asked, setting aside the binoculars as Sasuke stepped inside.

"I—" he paused, trying to decide whether he should tell Itachi about Sakura or not. If he did, that would only be more proof that Sasuke wasn't a good enough ninja yet, but if he didn't, Sakura might tell her comrades and then Itachi would be in danger.

Itachi spared him having to make a decision by interrupting in order to explain their plans for tomorrow. While the Konoha party was breaking camp, they would be at their most occupied and therefore, most vulnerable. Itachi would pounce at first light and carry the princess off while simulating her death. Sasuke would stay behind and watch the shinobi in order to inform Itachi if they followed him. This was clearly a ploy to keep him both safe and out of the way, but Sasuke didn't protest.

They ate dinner in silence. Sasuke wasn't very hungry, and it wasn't entirely because of the smell of instant ramen wafting from the direction of the road.

...

"Testing, testing, Kaede-nii-san, can you hear this?" Sasuke whispered into the miniature radio clipped to his collar.

"Perfectly." The reply was fuzzy but distinguishable. "Get as close as you can to the campsite without being noticed, then stay put. If they follow, tell me and I'll give you further instructions."

Sasuke moved silently and near-invisibly through the trees, gliding from branch to branch until he dropped to the ground about fifty yards from the campsite. Itachi had left long before dawn and was approaching from somewhere to the southeast. Leaning back against a tree-trunk, Sasuke prepared to wait, as the sun was only just beginning to peek above the hills.

At the campsite, he could see two civilian women bustling about a small but ornate covered wagon which must contain the princess. Sakura and the other two genin were loading their backpacks, and their sensei had his (masked) nose firmly stuck in a book. Clearly, they didn't expect a thing.

"Oh! Good morning Kyoko-chan!" the blond genin shouted, surprisingly loud for an on-duty ninja, and Sakura swatted him on the back on the head.

"Na-ru-to! That's no way to talk to a princess!"

"But Sakura-chaaan..."

The princess laughed as one of her maids helped her down the steps of the wagon. "It's fine, Sakura-chan. I get tired of people bowing to 'Kyoko-hime-sama' all the time. I might as well have a little fun before the wedding, ne?"

Sasuke's first thought when he saw Princess Kyoko of Frost Country was that it was going to be hard for Itachi to kidnap her because her hair would get caught on everything. Falling far past her waist, the dark locks were tied back near the ends with a red cord, in order to match her obi. She and both of her maids wore red for good luck in the upcoming marriage. However, it wouldn't do them much good if Itachi had anything to do about it, which he did.

The jounin—Sasuke had heard the dark-haired genin call him 'Kakashi-sensei'—thrust his book into a pouch hanging from his belt as Princess Kyoko approached. "Well, are we all ready to go, then?"

"Yes, Kakashi-san. Thank you for taking such good care of us."

Kakashi smiled, or at least his one visible eye curved up as if he did. "It's nothing, really," he replied, bending down to pick up his own pack. "Now, shall we—"

The moment Kakashi's hands were occupied, Itachi pounced. Forced to perform a substitution in order to avoid being impaled by a spread of shuriken, the Konoha jounin was unable to reach the princess in time. Before any of the three genin could even blink, Itachi had seized the princess around the waist, thrust a kunai into her chest, and vanished into the trees with the body. By the time the maids started screaming, he was long gone.

Sasuke let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Since Itachi was so non-threatening most of the time, it was easy to forget what a terrifyingly good ninja he could be when the situation called for it.

After calming down the hysterical maids, an operation which took some time, the four ninjas settled down for a council of war. Or rather, Kakashi and the dark-haired genin settled down for a council of war while Sakura sat in shock and Naruto guarded the perimeter all too thoroughly, considering the princess was already gone.

As they were speaking in much lower voices now, Sasuke was unable to hear from his distant position, even when he used chakra to boost his hearing. Just as he was about to move closer, the radio crackled.

"_Anything yet?_"

"I don't know, I can't hear them...Nii-san?"

"_Yes?_"

"I thought you were only kidnapping the princess."

"_I did._"

"But—"

_"Genjutsu._"

"Oh." Sasuke hadn't even been able to detect a hint of genjutsu. Hopefully, that meant the Konoha shinobi hadn't either. There was no possibility of his crossing the road without being seen, but he edged as close as possible to his side of the road. Now, he could catch some of the conversation, however, this was still not enough to really know what was going on.

He attempted to move to a slightly better position, only to find that he was completely frozen in place and unable to move. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just see a narrow strip of darker shadow stretching across the road.

[A/N: Dun dun dun! LOL. Thought parts of this chapter dragged a bit, but maybe that's just me not being able to write action scenes very well (although writing stuff like this is definitely helping me improve). Early Sakura and Naruto are fun to write, they're so adorable! Just so you know, this takes place at the time of the canon Wave arc. I have more schoolwork to do now, as the first things I posted were written on break while I was ill, so updates are going to be a bit slower for a while.]


	4. Part I, Chapter 4: Transaction

[A/N: Sorry for the wait, got in a bit of a rut...Again, Naruto is not mine. (Lame chapter title, I know, but I didn't plan on splitting it so I had to think of one in a hurry.)]

Chapter 4: Transaction

Sasuke had never felt so trapped. The slightest movement was impossible—he couldn't even blink. No matter how hard he tried to move, his muscles refused to respond. Just as he was sure some of his bones were going to break from the amount of pressure he was putting on them, he found himself stumbling to his feet, and not of his own volition. As he could see across the road now, he saw that the dark-haired genin (Shikamaru, Sasuke deduced from what Sakura had said last night) from the Konoha team was standing mirrored adjacent to him. Shikamaru stepped into the center of the road, and Sasuke perforce did the same.

While he could hear the Jounin approaching, Sasuke couldn't see him until Shikamaru (and consequently himself) turned to look. "So troublesome, Kakashi-sensei," Shikamaru said. "What took you so long? I can't keep this up forever."

Kakashi promptly pulled Sasuke's hands behind his back and bound them with a few deft knots, after which Shikamaru detached his shadow. Exhausted even though he had scarcely moved, Sasuke sank to his knees on the dirt surface of the road, too shaken to resist when the jounin pulled his mask off.

Attracted by the noise, Sakura emerged through the bushes lining the road. "Kakashi-sensei, what are—oh!" she cried, noticing Sasuke, "You're that girl from last night."

"I'm not a girl!" Sasuke protested, finally regaining his voice. Sure, he'd been wearing a long tunic, and his hair wasn't exactly short, and he was an onnagata part-time, but that wasn't any excuse for her not realizing he was a boy, was it?

"Last night?" Kakashi enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, I fell in the river," Sakura admitted, nervously wringing the front of her skirt. "S...He pulled me out."

"I see...Come along, back to camp," Kakashi ordered, dragging Sasuke to his feet and shooing Sakura and Shikamaru in front of him.

In the little campsite, the two maids were sitting tearfully by the fire while Naruto paced back and forth in an excellent impersonation of an experienced ninja. He whirled in a defensive position as the other ninja approached, but relaxed when he recognized his comrades. "Kakashi-sensei! What's going on? Who's that?" he asked as Kakashi pushed Sasuke down unceremoniously in front of the fire.

"That's what we're about to find out," Kakashi replied calmly, positioning himself in front of Sasuke. "First off: who are you?"

That was a fairly safe question to answer. "Yuki...Hiiro Yuki," Sasuke replied calmly. If Kakashi decided to search him, he had satisfactory identification papers to prove this, as well. Sometimes Itachi would do a little forgery to avoid having to do those missions; he was very good at it.

"Good. Now, who employed you?"

This was not so easy. Sasuke finally settled on the truth. "I don't know," he admitted.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Kakashi queried, his visible eye narrowing suspiciously.

"I mean I don't!" Sasuke replied defensively. "I don't handle that part of things." Stupid, he promptly chided himself, you might just as well have told him you were with Itachi.

"Really." Spinning around, Kakashi confronted the maids. "And do either of you by any chance know anything about this little...incident?"

"No," the first sniffled, "why should we, we were only—"

"He wasn't supposed to kill her!" the second wailed before breaking into sobs.

"Oh, indeed?" Kakashi leaned in closer. "And what was 'he' supposed to do?"

"W-we'll get in trouble if we tell," the maid protested.

"You're in trouble now," Kakashi pointed out, "so spill."

With some encouragement, the maids told the whole story. Apparently, while Frost Country wished to come to a trade agreement with Wind Country in order to have greater access to its cloth and dye production, the Daimyo did not want to give up his daughter for this end, and thus had arranged for her to be abducted en route. This way, Wind Country would not be able to complain about receiving short shrift and Frost Country could (discreetly) keep its princess until it was safe to report her 'rescue'.

"Clever," Kakashi said when they had finished. "But we were employed to make sure Kyoko-hime arrived in Wind Country and that's what we'll do. Now," he continued, turning to Sasuke, "where did your friend take her?"

"I don't know," Sasuke replied.

"Again with that. You really don't know much of anything about this business, do you?"

Sasuke bristled at the snide remark, but before he could say anything the radio clipped to his collar crackled to life. Not now, not now! he thought frantically, but Itachi did not appear to receive the mental message.

"Haven't you heard anything yet, Yuki?"

As Sasuke did not reply, Itachi apparently realized something was wrong and said nothing further, but Kakashi had already noticed. "Hey, don't!" Sasuke protested as the jounin pulled the little device from his tunic, but was predictably ignored.

...

Kakashi frowned as he looked down at the young spy. There was something almost familiar about the boy...maybe with some goggles...he shook his head in frustration. He was getting far too obsessed with the past if he was seeing Uchiha Obito in every sulky dark-haired kid he met.

"I've a fairly good idea who's on the other end of this," he said into the little radio, "and if you don't want your little friend to get hurt you'd best return Kyoko-hime at once."

"No, don't! I'm fine!" Yuki cried, although it was doubtful whether the radio would pick up his voice.

"Shut up, Yuki," Kakashi snapped, and was surprised at the boy's prompt obedience.

...

Itachi's mind was racing as he bore the still-unconscious princess southward, back to the campsite near the Kazan road. Kakashi's statement had shaken him more than he would admit even to himself. If Kakashi had recognized either of them, they couldn't hope to survive much longer once the news got out. Not only would Akatsuki be after Itachi to join them again, but Danzou would wish to dispose of them as well; and Danzou was rarely thwarted.

However, as Kakashi had not addressed him by name, perhaps he had only meant that he knew Itachi was the one who had abducted the princess. Hopefully that was the case, and Itachi could get safely away with Sasuke and lay low for a while. The loss of payment for this job would be a heavy blow, but they could make it up eventually. While it would be easier if he could leave Sasuke behind somewhere for a while so that he would be out of danger, he knew he would never be able to get his brother to agree to even a temporary separation.

It took him less time to retrace his steps than it had to cover them in the first place, but it was still some time before he made it all the way back. The girl seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, and he seriously considered cutting her hair off so it would stop getting caught on things, but concluded that this would be far too extreme and unlikely to do him any favors with Kakashi besides.

Arriving at the Kazan road, he halted some distance away from the campsite and laid the girl on the ground in front of him. Kakashi promptly appeared on the other side, dragging Sasuke who was looking quite miserable. Itachi tensed for a fight, but as far as he could tell Kakashi did not actually recognize him. There were three other chakra signatures nearby, but the genin did not show themselves.

"Release Yuki," Itachi demanded.

"As you like," Kakashi replied, cutting the cords tying Sasuke's wrists and shoving him in Itachi's direction. As soon as he arrived at Itachi's side, Itachi took his arm and the two of them vanished with a puff of smoke.

...

"Sasuke," Itachi said comfortingly a few days later, as they sat down to eat in their cheap hotel room, "It wasn't that bad. Anyone could have had that happen."

Sasuke knew he meant well, but was not much solaced. "But I ruined everything! You can't even get any little jobs now."

"That's not your fault," Itachi replied a little too quickly.

"You know it is," Sasuke replied. "People don't want you for missions because they know you'll drop everything if I'm in danger!"

"It doesn't matter if we can be together."

"Nothing's going to matter if we end up starving on the streets," Sasuke pointed out.

"True...you're about to try to talk me into something, aren't you?" Itachi inquired, raising one eyebrow.

Sasuke sighed and continued before he could lose his determination. "I...I want to take the Chuunin Exams!"

Itachi set down his chopsticks in surprise. "You can't be serious."

This was not going at well at all, but Sasuke pressed on. "If I pass, then I'll be a real ninja, and I'll be able to help you! I won't be a...liability...anymore."

Frowning, Itachi leaned back in his chair. "So that's what this is all about."

Sasuke nodded, concentrating intently on his soup so he wouldn't have to meet Itachi's gaze. "Before we left Suna, I heard some of the shinobi there talking about it. It's being held about a month from now."

"A month...that's not a very long time to get ready."

Nearly dropping his bowl in excitement, Sasuke leaned across the table. "You mean you'll let me go?"

"I suppose I must. Where is it being held?"

"Konoha," Sasuke admitted, hoping Itachi wouldn't change his mind.

From the conflicting expressions crossing Itachi's face it was clear that he almost denied Sasuke's request. "Promise me you won't do anything rash if I let you go," he said finally.

"Of course not!" Sasuke replied.

"That's that, then," Itachi said, apparently satisfied by Sasuke's promise. "Pack up your things, we'll need to leave first thing if we want to get you ready in time for the exams."

[A/N: This chapter struggles a bit but I think the next few will flow a lot better (and be written more quickly). I had some trouble with Kakashi's characterization, but I think I've got him settled now. I know this one's a teeny bit shorter than the others, but I had a good breaking point.]


	5. Part I, Chapter 5: Preparations

[A/N: Soon there'll be a couple of one-shots covering what Sasuke and Itachi were doing between chapters 1 and 2. I hope you enjoy this chapter!]

Chapter 5: Preparations

Sasuke was surprised at how much was in involved in getting ready for the Chuunin exams. He had assumed that it was merely a matter of getting there with suitable forged papers and paying the entry fee, but Itachi pointed out that as the exam was being held in Konoha it would be much more complicated than that. Besides that, Itachi had to research loopholes that would allow Sasuke to enter without a team.

The day before they travelled into Fire Country, Itachi left Sasuke at a wretched little inn (for they were nearly out of money by this point) in a small village just over the border and vanished for the rest of the day. While Sasuke was used to Itachi going off once every so often, he couldn't help worrying as it grew dark and Itachi still did not return. Just when he could stand waiting no longer and was about to go out and look, the window opened and a dark figure landed in the room.

Reacting instinctively, Sasuke flung a handful of kunai at the intruder, only to have them skillfully deflected. "Really, Otouto, you are jumpy tonight."

"Itachi!" Sasuke gasped in relief. "What took you so long?"

Itachi tossed him a small scroll. Catching it, Sasuke looked at it curiously. "I had more trouble picking up some of these things than I thought," Itachi explained.

"What's in this?" Sasuke asked, reaching for the string holding the scroll shut.

"Don't open it yet," Itachi ordered. "It would take too long to get everything cleaned up again. I'll show you in the morning."

Sasuke found it very hard to sleep that night.

...

The next morning, Sasuke woke at the proverbial crack of dawn, much to Itachi's dismay.

"Nii-san, Nii-san, wake up!" Sasuke cried, bouncing on the bed they had been sharing. As it was not a very good mattress, it didn't bounce very well, but it was still enough to wake Itachi.

"Stop that, Sasuke," he moaned sleepily, burying his head under his pillow.

"But Nii-saaan, you were going to show me what you got last night!"

Itachi sighed and sat up. "You haven't been this annoying since you were eight years old," he lamented, but it was clear that he didn't really mean it, since he poked two fingers into Sasuke's forehead like he had done when Sasuke was little. "All right, I'll show you as soon as we've gotten some breakfast. How does dango sound?"

"Nii-san, dango's not for breakfast!"

"Then how about ramen?"

"Nii-saaaan!"

...

Sasuke thought Itachi would never finish eating, but he finally cleared away the dishes and produced the mysterious scroll from the night before. Removing the string tying it shut, Itachi deftly flicked it open, revealing...

"Nii-san, it's just a bunch of clothes."

"What were you expecting? Diamonds?"

"Well, there was that one time..."

Itachi laughed. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but since the exam is going to be in Konoha I thought it would be best if you looked a bit different. Here," he continued, handing Sasuke a dark blue shirt and a pair of shorts, "try these on, and then we'll see about your hair."

That sounded distinctly foreboding, but Sasuke did as he was told. The shirt fit like a glove, and the deep collar was perfect for ducking into. Also, the shorts were much easier to move in than his old tunic had been.

"Perfect," Itachi announced after Sasuke had tried them on. "Now," he added, twirling a pair of scissors, "sit down and I'll see what I can do with your hair."

Sasuke looked dubiously at the canister of hairspray on the table. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Of course I don't know what I'm doing! The ancestors are probably never going to forgive me for this," Itachi sighed, readying the scissors. "Well, here goes half our kabuki income," he said as he made the first snip.

"You were the one who made most of the money from that," Sasuke reminded him. "What was that one that you got the award for? You know, the one with the crazy woman who burned down her house so she could be with her boyfriend?"

"_Oshichi_, and she wasn't crazy—hold still, Otouto!"

Sasuke froze for a moment as the scissors were indeed dangerously close to his ear. "She was too," he continued when it seemed safe to move again. "He was right near by, she could have just _walked over_ and talked to him or something."

"You don't understand their tragic love," Itachi retorted, shaking the can of hairspray. Sasuke realized too late that perhaps he should be holding his breath and was nearly smothered.

...

By the time Itachi finished, they were both quite heady from the hairspray fumes. Itachi opened a window and used a wind jutsu to air out the room while Sasuke went to look in the mirror. Despite his insistence that he didn't know what he was doing, Itachi had really done quite a good job with Sasuke's hair. It was fluffed up into soft spikes in the back, which Sasuke privately thought looked really cool but wasn't about to admit, and Itachi had left heavy bangs in front that he could hide behind. Together with the new clothes, he looked completely different than he had the day before.

"It's awful, isn't it?" Itachi asked when Sasuke returned.

"No, it's fine," Sasuke assured him.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better. Here, let me put this on you," Itachi said, leaning down to tie a forehead protector around Sasuke's head. It felt heavy and a bit strange, and he reached up to trace the moon symbol engraved in the smooth metal surface.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"A Getsu shinobi happened to...lose it...while I was walking by. We should probably be going before someone sees yours and thinks I stole it, ne?"

This really was a good idea, so Sasuke helped pack their things and they made their way out of the village as discreetly as possible.

...

As Konoha was located deep in the heart of Fire Country, it took them some time to reach there even after they crossed the border. Itachi, claiming that it would be unwise for him to get too near to Konoha, refused to travel nearer than a day's journey from the ninja village. While Sasuke had often been away from Itachi for a short time, this was the first time he would be travelling on his own.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Itachi asked.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," Sasuke said, even though that was exactly what he was doing himself.

"I can't help that," Itachi said. "What would I do if you were gone?"

"Don't say things like that. I'll be careful; there's nothing to worry about. It's just an exam."

"Even if it's 'just an exam', that doesn't mean its going to be easy," Itachi reminded him. "The tests are designed to assess field leadership skills, and they'll be very hard to pass without a team. There's a good chance you won't even make it past the first test."

Sasuke scoffed. "I'm sure I'll do better than that."

"I hope so. Here, take this," Itachi said, handing Sasuke a small purse, which chinked when he shook it. "Now don't spend any of that," Itachi warned, "it's only just enough to cover the entrance fee, so you'll be on your own for food and such."

"I can manage."

"I know. Just—don't get into trouble. You'll have to go on by yourself now, but the village is easy to find at times like this. When you get there, show them the papers I gave you and you should be fine. You do still have them?"

"Of course!" Sasuke replied, patting the pocket of his shorts where he had put the entry forms and forged identity papers. "I wouldn't lose something so important!"

Itachi smiled and ruffled Sasuke's hair. "All right then, this is good-bye. But one more thing," he added, suddenly becoming serious again, "don't let anyone see the Sharingan."

Sasuke nodded obediently. "But nii-san," he asked as Itachi turned to leave, "when are you going to tell me what happened to our family? Aren't I old enough yet?"

Sighing, Itachi turned back to him. "Soon, Sasuke. Perhaps when the exams are over. You need to be on your way if you want to reach Konoha before dark," he finished, making it clear that he wished to say no more about the other subject.

"Good-bye, Itachi-nii-san," Sasuke said, before starting down the forest path alone.

"Good-bye, Sasuke," Itachi replied.

When Sasuke paused and looked back, his brother was gone.

...

By the time Sasuke reached Konoha several hours later, the sun was setting and the gates were about to be closed. However, the guards paused when they saw him running up and allowed him into the city without much more than a glance at his papers. One of them even wished him good luck in the Exams.

It was too late that evening to register officially, so he found a sheltered, out-of-the-way corner in an alley and curled up to wait for morning. He didn't mind sleeping in the open; he had always found being indoors rather stifling, but Itachi preferred it so he never protested. Occasionally, however, they would end up having arguments when Sasuke left the windows open while Itachi wanted them closed and locked for safety. Itachi usually won these arguments, but Sasuke would open the windows whenever he was alone in a room.

The nights were more temperate in Konoha than in Suna, and he was not at all uncomfortable even without a blanket. Once he woke the next morning, he found his way after some difficulty to the registration office, only to find it wouldn't open for another hour. With nothing to do until it opened, Sasuke decided to scrounge up some breakfast.

Due to the number of the people in the village nearly doubling because of the Chuunin Exams, the Konoha Market was a very busy place. While there were still many shinobi about, most of the newcomers were civilians come to watch what was, for all intents and purposes, the biggest sporting event on the continent. In the wake of the confusion left by a large gaggle of unsupervised children, it was a simple matter to 'liberate' some fruit and a plate of takoyaki, after which he retreated to a quiet rooftop to enjoy the spoils.

Itachi had never liked it when he stole things, but Sasuke didn't really see why. After all, Itachi would steal things when he was paid to do so, and couldn't that be thought of as even worse than merely taking a few things because he needed them? Besides, the value of what Sasuke had taken was infinitesimal compared to some of the scrolls he'd helped Itachi heist.

By the time he had finished eating, he could see that the registration office was open due to the large crowd of genin crowded around the door. Leaping lightly down from the tiled rooftop, Sasuke made his way over to the office.

Most of the shinobi gathered to take the exams were rookies or at least relatively new to the profession, but there were a few adult genin as well. Just as Sasuke arrived, two Konoha jounin were breaking up a fight started when a team of older genin tried to cut in front of a rookie team. Sasuke recognized one of the jounin as the grey-haired sensei of the team he had run afoul of weeks before and quickly ducked into the crowd so he wouldn't be noticed. Although Itachi had assured him that no one would recognize him, if anyone took much notice of him at all, he couldn't help feeling very exposed out in the open.

Even after the fight ended and the line began running smoothly again, it was still some time before Sasuke finally made it to the registration desk inside.

"Identification please," the chuunin at the desk said automatically. Sasuke obligingly handed over the forged identity papers Itachi had given him, but he couldn't help staring at the wide scar crossing the bridge of the chuunin's nose. "Where's the rest of your team, Satoshi-kun?" the chuunin asked, pulling a drawer of the desk open to take out three entry forms.

"I don't have a team," Sasuke admitted.

The chuunin frowned. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to register without a team."

Mentally praying that whatever loophole Itachi had found in the entry requirements would work, Sasuke took out the sealed envelope and placed it on the desk. "I was told to give you this," he said.

Fishing a letter-opener out of a drawer, the chuunin quickly opened the envelope and scanned the contents. "This is very unusual," he said when he had finished reading. "I'll have to show this to the Hokage. Wait over there until I get back," he added, motioning to a wooden bench on one side of the room as he got up from the desk.

Sasuke sat down to wait, trying not to show that he was inwardly panicking as the time went by without the chuunin coming back.

...

[A/N: A bunch of silly brotherfluff in the first half, since Itachi's going to be out of the picture for a while. About the reference to Oshichi: get on youtube and search 'Yozakura Oshichi', then watch the first result. The dancer's a boy. So anyway, a while back I watched that and basically thought 'hey, Itachi would be really good at that!' and that prompted an entire not-quite-subplot. Dear me, I'm rambling...was there something I forgot? Oh yes, I don't own Naruto.]


	6. Part I, Chapter 6: First Test

[A/N: Quick question while I'm trying to outline Timelines: Is there any kind of official age ever given for Uchiha Shisui? I pegged him as four-ish years older than Itachi, but when I tried to look it up I couldn't find anything. Anyway, I don't own Naruto, and I hope you like this chapter, because I sure do.]

Chapter 6: First Test

Sasuke sat fidgeting on the hard bench for what seemed like months. After all the teams arriving that morning had left with their entry forms, the violet-haired woman who had taken over the registration desk took pity on him and offered him a stick of mitarashi dango from her lunch, but he was much too stressed to eat.

"Suit yourself," she said with a shrug after he politely refused. "You know," she remarked a few seconds later, her voice slightly muffled by the mouthful of dango she was eating, "it's been a long time since we've had someone good enough—or, you know, crazy enough—to try to get into the exams by themselves. Not here, anyway. The last one was some blond kid from Iwa more than seven years ago, and she didn't even make it through the second test. And I'm in charge of the second test this time around," she smirked menacingly (although the fact that her mouth was full of dango lessened the intimidation quite a bit), "So you don't stand a chance. Brave of you to try, though. Are you sure you don't want any dango?"

Sasuke felt even less like eating now, and said so.

"Fine, fine. Oh, here's Iruka!" the woman said, quickly getting back behind the desk as the scarred chuunin Sasuke had first met entered the office.

"Good news, Satoshi-kun!" Iruka announced cheerfully. "The Sandaime says you can enter the exams. Now, I'll just get you an entry form and—" he paused, noticing Sasuke's conflicted expression. "Anko's been trying to scare you, hasn't she?" he asked, quickly deducing the situation. "Don't worry, you can ignore her: apparently she thinks intimidating would-be chuunins is fun."

"Hey!" Anko protested, pausing from her filing. "I was just telling the kid why he shouldn't get his hopes up!"

Iruka ignored her and formed a one-handed seal. Suddenly, one of the blank forms Anko had been holding appeared in his hand. Giving this to Sasuke, Iruka produced a ball-point pen as theatrically as Sasuke had ever seen Itachi produce a senbon.

"Show-off," Anko grumbled.

"It's not often I run into someone who hasn't already seen this in the Academy," Iruka retorted. "Now," he continued, turning back to Sasuke and handing him the pen, "just sign here, and...let's see...here and here, and you're all set."

Sasuke did as he was told, and then sat staring at the form in some bewilderment. Such a little bit of paper, but it was the key to being a real shinobi! When he passed the exams, Itachi would certainly be proud of him, and they'd never have to worry about being split up again. He was so wrapped up in this reverie that he only came back to reality when Iruka tapped him on the shoulder.

"Anko and I need to close up the office now, so you'll have to go daydream somewhere else," the chuunin told him goodnaturedly.

Embarrassed at being so oblivious and a little on edge from the attention, Sasuke practically fled. Retreating to a quiet rooftop where he wouldn't be disturbed, he settled down to examine the papers. He couldn't quite make out the form itself, as it was written in legalese and without furigana, but from what he could decipher in the accompanying schedule, the exam was due to start in five days. What was he supposed to do for five days?

...

Apparently, what he was supposed to do for five days was train, as the numerous training fields surrounding the village were open to any genin with an exam registration form. While Sasuke had never really practiced for the sake of practicing before, as most of his training with Itachi had been on the job, he quickly saw the benefits and spent many an hour improving his aim with kunai and shuriken. When he used the Sharingan, he could have near-perfect accuracy, but Itachi had always told him not to become over-reliant on the bloodline limit or he would be easily defeated without it.

He knew that no one in Konoha was likely to think him suspicious unless he _acted_ suspicious, but he couldn't help avoiding the Konoha genin whenever he ended up near them, especially the team he had fallen afoul of in River Country. Unfortunately, Team 7, as he learned they were called, was obnoxiously dedicated to training—at least Naruto and Sakura were—and always seemed to turn up at the field he was using. Once he left two kunai behind in his hurry to get away and couldn't retrieve them until the next morning.

After the first day, the sellers in the market cottoned on to the fact that someone was stealing from them and he had to be much more careful not to get caught, but he still managed enough to get by until the exams started.

...

Since no one wanted to be late on the first day of the Chuunin Exams, the large classroom allocated for the purpose filled quickly and Sasuke, who arrived shortly before the written test was to start, found everyone's eyes on him as he hurried to his assigned seat. Luckily, he did not end up next to any of the Konoha genin. However, the kunoichi he found himself sitting by wore an Oto insignia, so he would have to be careful as Itachi had made some enemies in Sound who would be glad of a chance to get back at him.

The rules of the first exam were simple enough: answer the nine questions on his paper plus a surprise question at the end. Starting with ten points, he would lose one for every question wrong and two for every time he was caught cheating. The proctor also said that if one member of a team lost all their points, their teammates would fail as well, but as Sasuke had no team that didn't apply to him.

Several of the genin in the room seemed to have noticed that he was the only one present with a Getsu forehead protector, but the test began before any of them could remark on this. Turning his paper over, Sasuke looked it over and inwardly groaned in despair—he couldn't read a word of it. While he knew kana and enough kanji to read wanted posters and labels in the market, Itachi had been too busy to teach him much else. Occasionally, he had tried to put Sasuke in school when they were staying in one place for a time, but by the time he was used enough to the environment to actually learn anything, they would have to leave.

Fiddling distractedly with his pencil, Sasuke tried to make sense of something on the test. Even the diagrams were confusing, and it was clear that even if he could read the problems the mathematics required would be far too advanced for him to solve them. Looking around the room, he could see that some of the other genin were having almost as much difficulty as he was; the loud blond from Team 7, for one. However, some of them were solving the problems with relative ease, which gave him an idea. After all, Itachi hadn't said not to _use_ the Sharingan, just not to get caught.

Carefully shifting his forehead protector down so it shadowed his eyes, Sasuke chose one of the more successful test-takers—a meek-looking girl with short dark hair—and activated the Sharingan. With any luck, the proctors wouldn't notice how identical their handwriting and answers were until after he had gone on to the next stage of the exam.

After a short time, the Oto kunoichi began to look at him strangely, clearly sensing the outflux of chakra, so he deactivated the Sharingan and looked over the answers he'd copied. Predictably, he couldn't read them any better than the paper itself, but the eight he had managed to copy looked suitably complicated. If they were correct, he could easily stand to leave the remaining problem blank. Also, with any luck, he'd be able to answer the mysterious tenth problem correctly.

...

By the time the examiner (due to his late arrival Sasuke wasn't sure of his name) announced that it was time for the tenth question, the number of teams had gone down by more than a third as genin were caught cheating the requisite number of times and escorted from the room with their teams. This only meant that Sasuke was more likely to run into the Konoha genin later, as all of them were still in the classroom.

"I will now explain the additional rules," the examiner stated. Sasuke stopped doodling on the map of Konoha he'd started on the back of his test paper in order to pay attention. "If you choose to answer the tenth question and do so incorrectly, you will never be permitted to retake the Chuunin Exams." There were several shocked gasps from around the room. "Anyone who does not wish to answer the tenth question may retire now and retake the exams later on."

Soon, the room was less than half full. Sasuke considered whether or not he should retire as well, as he couldn't bear the thought of losing his chance to pass. However, this was likely to be his only chance to take the exams and he certainly couldn't hope to pass if he backed out as soon as things got difficult, so he stayed where he was.

Several more teams filed out, and Sasuke could see that Sakura was about to raise her hand as well. This was somewhat of a relief, because the fewer teams there were, the more likely it was that he would run into Team 7 in the next stage of the exam. However, before Sakura could retire, her noisy blond teammate jumped up and, in a remarkable display of courage from what Sasuke had seen of him so far, not only managed to convince Sakura to remain but all of the other genin still in the room.

...

When it became clear that no-one else was going to retire, the examiner revealed that the mysterious 'tenth question' was the decision whether or not to stay, and all those who had passed, to Sasuke's great relief. He would have been almost certainly done for had it been anything else.

Several genin complained about the mind-games, but Sasuke was accustomed enough to Itachi's occasional trickery not to be shaken. It made sense, in a way. Anyone who refused to take a leap of faith in a sheltered classroom couldn't be trusted to take risks that might mean their teammates' lives in the field.

Just as the examiner finished his speech, a trenchcoat-wearing figure burst through the windows lining the wall Sasuke was next to, showering glass over most of the genin on that side of the room. Luckily, the Oto girl was between him and the window, but he was still hit by some of the flying shards. "Listen up, you lot!" Anko shouted—Sasuke had recognized her almost right away, the fishnet top was very distinctive. "From here on it's going to...Ibiki, did you have to leave so _many_?"

Ibiki shrugged. Naruto grinned.

"The more the merrier, I suppose. As I was saying," she went on, "From here on it's going to be life and death, not these piddly little paper tests!"

From the groans throughout the room, it was clear that most of the genin did not consider the paper tests 'piddly' in the least. Anko disregarded them.

"Okay, now! We'll meet at Training Ground 44 and get the second test started!" Ibiki tapped Anko on the shoulder and discreetly pointed out something in the schedule. "All right, fine," Anko sighed. "An hour for lunch_—_although you'll probably be too scared to eat—and _then_ we'll get the second test started. Get a move on now!"

[A/N: I'm wondering if I should get a beta for this. I'd like someone else's input for some things, but I also like being able to put things up right away...ah, decisions, decisions...I really liked the little scene with Iruka this chapter; I figure he has all kinds of l33t paper-passing jutsu from being an Academy Teacher (and I might possibly ship AnkoIru. Just a little bit.). Next up: The Forest of Death! I'm almost back on my outline now, yay!]


	7. Part I, Chapter 7: Alliances

Chapter 7: Alliances

[A/N: Okay, in this chapter we have the Epic Team Shuffle, which I attempted to make clear but I can provide a list if anybody's confused. I kind of glossed over the first test, but I'm sure everybody's seen that covered a zillion other times before in other AU fics so I just wanted to get on with it and get to the fun part.]

While Sasuke was glad of the opportunity for a breather before the second test began, watching the other chuunin hopefuls unpack their lunches only served to remind him that he'd only had a couple of peaches for breakfast that morning. Also, with all the jounin hovering nearby to see how their charges were doing, he didn't stand much of a chance of getting away long enough to swipe anything from the market. A thorough search through his pockets only managed to turn up one five-ryo coin he'd found in a gutter, a broken pencil which he didn't remember and must have belonged to the previous owner of his shorts, and a somewhat smushed wrapped mochi ball. He had acquired the mochi ball several days before, but was too hungry to be picky, so he unwrapped and ate it while keeping a sharp eye out for any unattended food.

He wasn't really expecting anything, but when the timid dark-haired girl he'd copied the test answers off of set her bento aside and turned to speak to her teammate, Sasuke saw his chance and took it, snatching up the bento and vanishing into a nearby tree before either of them could notice, let alone react. None of the other genin had been looking in their direction, and the girl's teammate had been far to focused on his own food to pay attention to hers. She didn't realize it was missing until she reached back to pick it up.

"Chouji!" she chided gently. "You could have just asked if you were hungry; you didn't have to take my bento!"

Chouji stopped eating long enough to stare at her in bewilderment. "But Hinata-chan, I didn't take it," he protested.

"B-but it's gone...Shino!" she called quietly to her other teammate. "My bento box is missing."

Before Shino could reply, Anko appeared in front of the wire fence bordering the training ground. Thankfully, there wasn't any glass to be broken this time, and Sasuke was a safe distance away. "Okay, listen up!" she shouted. "Technically you have seven minutes left but I'm tired of waiting so come into the tent to get your waivers and such as I call you!" None of the genin had noticed the tent by that point, but it was very well disguised.

"Waivers?" a Kiri genin said curiously.

"Yup!" Anko affirmed with a cheerful smile. "Some of you are going to be dying and stuff now. Fun times, fun times...anyway, we need you to sign these so you can't say we didn't warn you. Let's see, who's first...okay, Team 62 from Iwa!"

...

Sasuke was one of the last to be called, so he had plenty of time to finish the pilfered bento. As the little shy girl's teammates shared their food with her, he didn't feel especially guilty about the theft.

"Team 7 from Konoha!"

The three genin he'd been avoiding most all week filed into the tent. Sakura led the way with Naruto following closely, almost in her footprints, and Shikamaru slouched along behind.

"Team 8 from Konoha!"

A dark-haired boy and a cheerful-looking girl with her hair in odango walked over. They were taller than most of the other Konoha genin, and the boy who followed after them, carrying a small dog tucked in his jacket, looked faintly intimidated.

"Team 9 from Konoha!"

Two strangely-dressed dark-haired boys dashed over, followed by a grumbling blond girl with her hair in a long ponytail.

"Team 10 from Konoha!"

"That's us," Chouji said, getting up and brushing crumbs onto the ground. "Are you sure you're all right, Hinata?"

"I'm fine," Hinata said. As she stood, she turned so that Sasuke could see her face for the first time, and he couldn't help staring as she walked past the tree he was hiding in. He didn't hear Anko calling for the next few teams.

"Team...you don't actually have a team and I can't find your name but you know who you are, from Getsu!"

Shoving the emptied bento box into one of his pockets, Sasuke dropped out of the tree and hurried over, trying to ignore the curious stares following him.

"There you are," Anko said as Sasuke entered the tent. She was sitting behind a desk again, this one bearing two large boxes full of scrolls and a pile of forms. "What was your name, anyway?"

"Satoshi Ken," Sasuke lied calmly. Often, he and Itachi would go through three aliases or more in a month, so he was very used to giving false names.

"Right, then, Satoshi," Anko went on, "I really didn't want to do it, but they said to give you both scrolls, so here. Congratulations, you now have a teeny, tiny chance of passing." She shoved a dark- and light-colored scroll across the desk at him with a pout. "Now sign this," she said, putting down a form as Sasuke put the scrolls into the pocket that didn't contain the stolen bento box. Sasuke signed the paper neatly but rather clumsily, in large childish kana. Anko didn't even glance at the signature before handing Sasuke the carbon sheet underneath and filing the original in a box underneath the desk. "Okay, go away now," she commanded, "I have to go explain how the test works." She vanished in a puff of smoke and Sasuke hurried after her.

"Listen up everybody, because I'm only going to say this once!" Anko shouted once outside, waving to get everyone's attention. "Each of your teams has either one of these—" she held up one of the light scrolls "—or one of these," she finished, holding up one of the dark ones. "There are three rules, and they're very, very simple. Seriously, even you hopeless cases can figure it out." A few of the genin laughed nervously, but Anko wasn't smiling, at least not in a reassuring way. She glared them down and went on. "First: get the scroll you don't have. Second: get to the tower in the middle of the training area with your team. Third: don't die. I'm sure that last bit won't do some of you much good, but I have to say it, it's in my contract. Now, each team choose a gate to enter by and we'll get started!"

"Anko-san!" the Konoha odango kunoichi shouted, raising her hand. "Does it have to be the same team we started with?"

"Uh...well, that would help, Tenten, but I don't know if there's anything in the rules..."

"Thank you!" Tenten called back before Anko could say anything more. "Here, give me that, Kiba," she snapped at the boy with the dog, snatching the scroll out of his hand.

"Take it, it's yours," Kiba conceded, backing away. The dog tucked in his jacket whimpered in agreement.

"C'mon, Neji, let's go," Tenten said, dragging her other teammate away. "Lee!" she shouted, "Get over here, you're with us now!"

"What's with them?" Sasuke heard a Kumo genin whisper to Chouji, as one of the two boys with the blond ponytailed girl joined Neji and Tenten.

"They were held back from the year before the rest of us," Chouji explained. "Tenten was going to graduate before Neji and Lee, so they tried to get her in a little trouble. They ended up blowing up an academy building that had been there since the second Hokage; everyone else is kind of scared of them now."

As Tenten and her two friends were now looking directly at Sasuke, this bit of intelligence was not in the least comforting.

"Enough chitchat, get moving!" Anko shouted.

The collected genin quickly sorted themselves out and spread around the wire fence of the training ground. Inside were huge trees dripping with vines—although, Sasuke noticed, none near enough to the fence to facilitate climbing out—and occasionally what sounded like a large predator could be heard. Sasuke ran almost halfway around the enclosure before choosing a gate, in hopes that the conglomerate Konoha team wouldn't follow him. There was no such luck, however, as they halted only two gates away. From the looks they were giving him, it was clear they thought he was an easy target. This was most likely true, unfortunately. The three of them were older and taller than he was, and carried themselves with a confident air of experience.

Before Sasuke had time to think of any kind of strategy, the gate in front of him slid open gratingly and a bell rang to signal the start of the second test. He decided the best plan for the moment would be to run as if his life depended on it and hope he could outrace them.

...

He needn't have bothered. Lee was blindingly fast—literally, Sasuke couldn't see him at all—and was in front of him almost before he realized it. Although Sasuke attempted to swerve around him, he wasn't in time to avoid a crushing kick to his midriff that threw him to the ground several feet away.

As it was clear he didn't stand much of a chance in a fight with them even if he could breathe, which was rather difficult at the moment, Sasuke concluded that the best he could do for now was to play dead. The very idea of moving hurt, so this was not particularly hard.

"Well, that was even easier than I expected," Tenten said scornfully. Sasuke could hear her footsteps approaching where he lay face-down in the grass. "You'd think he'd be better than that if he came here without a team." Kneeling beside Sasuke, she removed the scrolls from his pocket, luckily without finding the stolen bento box. "Neji, he has both scrolls. Should we take them?"

"No. If he is fated to pass, he will pass."

Tenten dropped one of the scrolls back into the grass and raced away with her teammates.

When Sasuke was certain they were gone, he painfully picked himself up and retrieved the remaining scroll, gritting his teeth as his bruised ribs protested. Gathering a small amount of healing chakra around his right hand, he used it to ease the pain somewhat, although he couldn't heal it fully if he wanted to have any chakra left afterward. This done, the idea of walking did not seem so bad, and he headed further into the forest. If he wanted to have any chance of passing this test, he needed to move quickly, before all of the weaker teams were eliminated.

Climbing one of the taller trees near him, he surveyed the nearby area. He and Tenten's team had been the only two to enter for some distance, so there was no-one in the immediate vicinity. There were several chakra signatures to the east, so he headed in that direction, keeping in the trees and masking his chakra signature as best he could in order to avoid detection.

The other ninja team wasn't hard to find. Unfortunately, it was the team he had been most hoping not to encounter. Konoha's Team 7 was clustered in a sheltered space in the lee of a large rock. Naruto was pacing protectively back and forth, while Sakura was trying largely unsuccessfully to staunch the bleeding from a long, jagged gash in Shikamaru's leg. Even though it must have been intensely painful, Shikamaru just looked bored, although he occasionally remarked that it was "troublesome."

Settling back against the trunk of the tree, Sasuke considered his options. While Team 7 was vulnerable right now, he would still be outnumbered if he tried to attack them, and he doubted that Shikamaru needed to move much in order to use whatever technique he had captured Sasuke with in River Country. However, this might be his best chance to get the other scroll he needed...unless, of course, they had been given the same scroll.

Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration. Supressing his apprehension and inwardly praying they wouldn't recognize him, Sasuke leapt out of the tree, landing lightly in front of Team 7. Naruto quickly whipped out a kunai, but Sasuke spread his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "I'm not here to fight," he said, forcing his voice to remain calm. "I'm a medic. I have a proposition to make."

Naruto glared suspiciously. "Yeah? And why should we—"

"Quiet, Naruto," Sakura cut him off. "We need help. What do you want?" she asked.

"As I'm the only test-taker here alone," Sasuke explained, "I'm a target to the other teams. I can heal your friend, and any other injuries any of you may incur during the exam. In return, you would let me accompany your team, and help me get the other scroll I need."

Team 7 gathered into a huddle. Sasuke couldn't make out all of their whispering, but it sounded as if Naruto was doubtful, Sakura was all for it, and Shikamaru considered it the least troublesome option.

"We accept," Sakura said finally. "I'm Haruno Sakura, this is Nara Shikamaru, and that's Uzumaki Naruto. You?"

"Satoshi Ken," Sasuke replied, gathering more healing chakra.

[A/N: I feel like I might be overdoing Anko a bit, but she's so fun! Sorry this took longer than usual, I had lots of schoolwork (but I actually managed to stick with my outline this chapter, yay!). On a bit of a different note, does anybody else think Fluttershy from MLP is just like Hinata? She's too cute, really.]


	8. Part I, Chapter 8: Ambush

[A/N: Okay, just to clear things up from last chapter, the teams were: Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru on Team 7; Hinata, Shino and Chouji on Team 8; Lee, Ino and Sai on Team 9; and Kiba, Tenten and Neji on Team 10.]

Chapter 8: Ambush

Healing Shikamaru proved to be more difficult than Sasuke had expected. Whoever had attacked them must have coated their weapons with anticoagulants, which meant that Sasuke had to use up most of his chakra to counteract their effects. By the time he was finished more than an hour later, he was exhausted.

"There," Sasuke said finally, "done. Now what?" Despite the trouble he'd had, Sasuke thought this was some of his best medical work; there wasn't a trace left of the jagged wound.

"It's almost dark," Sakura said. "We should find someplace to camp for the night."

"There's a river to the south," Naruto suggested.

"That won't work," Sakura declared. "All the other teams are going to head there as well. It would be a good place to set up an ambush later, but not to camp near."

"It would be least troublesome to stay here," Shikamaru pointed out.

"Not with all the blood. It would attract predators, not to mention advertise our weakness."

"But—"

"_I'm_ the one who placed first in tactics, remember?" Sakura waved a finger at Shikamaru teasingly.

He shrugged. "The test was too troublesome."

Sakura snorted. "That's what you say to everything. Ken-kun, do you have any ideas?" She turned to look at Sasuke. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Ye—that is, no, not really," Sasuke replied, sitting down heavily. "Wherever it is will have to be somewhere close by, I don't have enough chakra left to travel very far." With Itachi, he would have never admitted to weakness, but these three were much closer to his own level, so he didn't feel the need to push himself past his limits or pretend to be perfect.

"Right then," Sakura stood up and brushed off her skirt automatically, even though it didn't need it. "Naruto and I will scout around and find someplace safe but relatively close by. That is if you two will be safe here for a little while?"

Sasuke nodded. Shikamaru shrugged. Seemingly satisfied, Sakura took off into the trees, with Naruto following close behind. Her stealth skills had improved distinctly since Sasuke had run into her on the River Country mission; he could barely hear her drift through the leaves. Naruto also, despite his exuberant movements, was surprisingly quiet.

For some time, Sasuke and Shikamaru sat in silence. Shikamaru didn't appear to have much interest in him at all, and Sasuke didn't want to start a conversation for fear of letting something slip. While he was fairly sure that if Shikamaru had recognized him, he would have said something to his teammates by now, Sasuke was still wary. Being caught in the Nara's shadows was not an experience he wished to repeat if there was any way he could avoid it.

"Do you play shogi?" Shikamaru asked suddenly, and Sasuke jumped.

"Not really..." he replied, after pausing to attempt to figure out whether it was a trick question or not. "W—I usually play Go, but I'm not very good at it."

Shikamaru started to reply, but just then Sakura dropped down between them. "We found a perfect spot," she reported. "It's about a half-kilometer to the north. Naruto's there setting up camp, let's go!"

...

Once they arrived at the campsite, it was quite dark, so they quickly ate some rations that Sakura had brought, ignoring Naruto's pleas for ramen, and settled down for the night. It was decided that the three members of Team 7 would take watches through the night; while Sasuke volunteered, Sakura refused to allow it, insisting that sufficient sleep was vital for recovery from chakra exhaustion. Sasuke wasn't quite sure that was the only reason, but didn't feel like protesting. He fell asleep almost as soon as he laid down, and didn't even wake up when the watches changed throughout the night.

He opened his eyes to find himself in the traditional garden again, by the house in the cherry trees. Remembering what had happened last time, he approached the house cautiously, making sure there was a clear avenue of escape before entering. The door squeaked as he opened it, as if Sasuke had been the first to go in for a long time. "Is anyone here?" Sasuke called tentatively. There was no reply, but he hadn't really been expecting any.

Itachi had once told him that genjutsu were strongest when they drew upon the subject's subconscious memories, and Sasuke had a feeling that was what this was. It certainly wasn't a dream; he rarely dreamed, and never this vividly. If this was a memory, he wanted to find out what it was. While he had been in lots of traditional buildings, such as the okiya he and Itachi stayed at when they did their onnagata work, this was not one he remembered. From the look of it, it was the residence of a rich family, perhaps a member of a high-class ninja clan. At one end of the hall, a door stood open slightly, casting a sliver of light into the hall, and Sasuke found himself drawn toward it. He was just about to push it open fully when...

"Genjutsu _kai!_"

The door vanished even as his fingers brushed it, and he found himself looking up at Sakura as the rest of his surroundings dissipated. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You had your eyes open, but you wouldn't answer me."

"I'm fine," he assured her. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Well, if you say so," she said, but her tone was unconvinced. "Naruto's off looking to see if there's anyone who could have been casting genjutsu, then we're going to meet him by the river and try to pick up a few scrolls. Chakra all better?"

"Yes, I think so," Sasuke replied.

"Good." Sakura turned to Shikamaru, or rather, a blanket-covered lump with Shikamaru's ponytail sticking out of it, and kicked him sharply. "Come on, Troublesome-kun, time to get up!" There was no response, so she sat down heavily on the lump and began to bounce. "The day dawns brightly/Troublesome ninja still sleeps/It's quite annoying."

"That's a terrible haiku," Shikamaru grumbled, trying to pull the blankets further over his head.

"Anything to wake you up," Sakura retorted, cheerfully yanking all the blankets away. "Come on, let's go!"

Once Shikamaru was finally roused, he acted with surprising efficiency, and soon they were on a direct route to the river. Sakura insisted on taking a relatively easy pace so Sasuke could conserve his chakra, as they would likely be fighting soon.

As they began to first hear the river, Naruto bounded up to them. "There's two teams nearby," he reported. "One of them is the Suna team; the one with the guy who was bullying Konohamaru, you know? I really want to fight him," he growled.

"What about the other one?" Sakura asked.

"They're from Kiri. They're camped near a waterfall a little ways up the river."

"Good. Let's get a bit closer—I have a plan."

"But—" Naruto began to protest, but Sakura shushed him.

"First place in tactics, remember? Now everybody be quiet and let's go."

Under Sakura's orders, they masked their chakra as much as possible and made their way silently to the edge of the trees near the river, within sight distance of the Kiri team's camp, located at the base of a small but fast-flowing waterfall. The three shinobi below seemed on edge, but from what of their conversation that could be heard from Team 7's vantage point, this was because of the Suna team, which was apparently both brutally ruthless and undefeatable.

Turning to Shikamaru, Sakura held a long conference with him in whispers and discreet hand signals, then dropped back into the trees. Naruto turned to follow her, but Shikamaru caught his arm. "Wait," he said firmly.

For a long time, nothing happened. The Kiri team began to relax as the chakra signatures of the Suna team moved away to the south, and soon began fishing in the river. Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru stared jealously as the smell of roasting fish began to waft in their direction.

They were just as startled as the Kiri shinobi at the sudden explosion from the direction Sakura had gone, even Shikamaru, who seemed to have been expecting something. Naruto jumped up, but Shikamaru grabbed him by the collar and made him sit down again. "Naruto," he ordered, "you and Ken circle around behind and take them if I signal."

"But Sakura—"

"Knows exactly what she's doing." Shikamaru let go of Naruto's collar and made a shooing motion.

Pouting doubtfully, but not arguing, Naruto dropped lightly out of the tree, Sasuke following close behind. Once they were on the ground, however, Naruto fell back and allowed Sasuke to lead. Sasuke wasn't sure whether to be pleased or suspicious.

Above the waterfall, the trees grew much closer to the riverbank, and Sasuke was able to get close enough to hear the Kiri group easily, even above the noise of the waterfall. Because of the circuitous route they had taken to avoid detection, he and Naruto did not arrive in time to see Sakura stagger from the treeline (although she told them the whole story later; repeatedly, in fact). By the time they had ensconced themselves behind a fallen tree and could see what was going on, Sakura, who was smoke- and dirt-stained with hair dishevelled and dress torn, was clinging to the apparent leader of the Kiri team, sobbing brokenly as she related the tragic demise of her teammates at the hands of the Suna team. The other two Kiri ninja were so focused on her that they didn't notice the narrow shadow snaking slowly in their direction.

Sasuke had to respect her performance. It was almost as good as some of the acts he had pulled off—but Sakura, with her bright pink hair, was far too easily recognizable to be a good pickpocket, and much too flashy to make a good geisha. However, if she covered her hair, she might make a fairly good retriever with practice. She was slender enough to fit through a transom, and he had seen how quickly and quietly she could move now.

Below them Sakura was still sobbing, but she was only clinging with one hand now, and Sasuke was willing to bet that she was either signalling with the other, or reaching for a weapon, or both. Naruto seemed to feel the same, for he tensed in preparation to spring from behind the log.

A few seconds later, the thin tendril of shadow that had been slowly approaching the whole time whipped out from behind a rock to cover the remaining distance to the Kiri leader's shadow. It stopped bare inches away. Looking discreetly downward, Sakura saw the difficulty, and leaned forward just enough to push her target into the right place. Suddenly, the Kiri ninja froze stiffly, and Sasuke winced inwardly as he remembered what it had been like.

Whipping out a kunai, Sakura held it to the Kiri leader's throat as his two teammates realized what was going on and moved to attack. "Not so fast!" she snapped. "Come any closer and I'll kill him, and you know you can't pass this test without a full team."

The other two Kiri shinobi glowered but did not attack, and Sakura waved towards the trees with her free hand. "Naruto, come down and see which one of them has the scroll!" she called. "Ken-kun, you cover them!"

Sasuke readied a handful of senbon as Naruto bounded down the steep slope next to the waterfal, but it proved to be unnecessary. The Kiri team, preferring to escape humiliated but unscathed, handed their scroll over easily and fled as soon as Shikamaru released their leader from his shadows.

...

"Well, that was surprisingly easy," Sakura gloated as Shikamaru and Sasuke joined her and Naruto by the water. "Of course," she added, running a hand through her pink tresses, "I did rank first in drama class."

Naruto frowned in confusion. "But didn't you tie with I—"

"Na-ru-to..." Sakura growled warningly. Naruto quickly changed the subject.

"This is an Earth scroll," he said. "Which one do we have?"

"Heaven," Shikamaru replied.

"Which scroll do you have, Ken-kun?" Sakura asked, taking the scroll from Naruto and adjusting her skirt, even though it could hardly help with how tattered it was now.

"Earth," Sasuke admitted.

Sakura paused. "You mean we could have just...well, that's out of the question now. Come on," she said cheerfully, tucking the scroll into a pouch on her belt, "let's go get a Heaven scroll!"

"But Sakura, we haven't had anything to eat," Naruto protested. "I thought you quit your diet when Kabuto got a girlfriend."

Sakura glared, then turned with a flippant shrug. "That is a subject I no longer care to discuss," she said with well-feigned disinterest. "However, there appears to be some perfectly good fish going to waste here...so I suppose we might as well eat it."

"_Itadakimasu!_" Naruto shouted cheerfully before snatching up one of the fish-laden skewers by the fire.

...

As he was standing a little way off from the Konoha team, Sasuke saw the dark shadow and scaly reflection in the water just before it was too late to do anything about it. Acting nearly before he realized it, he darted forward and grabbed Sakura by the hair, dragging her out of the way as a massive, triangular scaly head snapped down right next to where she had been sitting. Shikamaru, who must have noticed the monstrous snake at almost the same time, bounded up the cliff by the waterfall with surprising agility, then reached a hand down to help up Sakura. Soon, the three of them were sitting in dubious safety on a rocky ledge, panting for breath as the first snake oozed its way onto the shore, followed by more of its kind.

"Wait a second," Sakura gasped suddenly, looking around in panic. "Where's Naruto?"

...

[A/N: Aaaand the snakes turn up! Shikamaru in Team 7 is surprisingly fun to write. As you can see, Sakura is a lot more spirited when she hasn't been trying to impress Sasuke for half her life. And I'm sorry for the fact that it might be looking like it, but this isn't SasuSaku, BTW. I hope that's not too heartbreaking :-)]


	9. Part I, Chapter 9: Trap

[A/N: I've decided to try to find a beta for Timelines, and possibly the second half of this. Is there any beta-requesting etiquette I should be aware of? Anyway, this is where some things really get moving, so I hope you enjoy!]

Chapter 9: Trap

The three of them stared in startled horror as one of the snakes raised its head, revealing a genin-shaped lump slowly making its way down the serpent's scaly neck.

"_Naruto!_" Sakura screamed.

Sasuke quickly covered her mouth. "Quiet!" he whispered sharply. "Do you want to die too?"

"But—"

"There's nothing we can do," Shikamaru said quietly. "Let's get out of here."

As the giant reptiles, attracted by Sakura's scream, began to slither towards them, Sasuke and the two remaining members of Team 7 clambered the rest of the way up the rocky slope and ran for the safety of the tree line.

...

"The trees are only slowing the snakes down," Sasuke reported as they halted behind the fallen tree he and Naruto had used as shelter before their ambush. "They're trying to surround us. Could they have been summoned by one of the examinees?"

Sakura shook her head. "The amount of chakra required to summon even one of those things would be too much for a whole team of genin; two whole teams, even. If they are summons, whoever summoned them must be insanely powerful."

That didn't sound good. "Shikamaru," Sasuke asked, "can your shadows hold them long enough for us to get somewhere safer?"

"I'm afraid not," Shikamaru replied. "The Shadow Bind only works on things that are at least vaguely human-shaped; you know, appendages and such."

"We'll just have to run, then. Sakura, are you all right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I think so," she answered. "I only scraped up my leg a bit when you pulled me out of the way. It's much preferable to...being..."

Sakura's eyes began to fill with tears and Sasuke gently shook her by the shoulders. "We don't have time to think about that," he told her firmly. "Come on, let's get out of here while we still can."

While Sakura had insisted she wasn't badly hurt, the injury was slowing her down, so Sasuke went ahead in order to distract the snakes long enough for Shikamaru to help her past them. The snakes were relatively slow to react, although due to their size they could cover a large distance quickly, therefore they were all able to make it out of the small glade the snakes had been surrounding them in.

Their relief was short-lived, however, as another group of snakes suddenly appeared in front of them. Sasuke produced a fireball to blind them, but not before the reptiles had closed the gap and cut off their escape. Slowly backing away, the three ninja found themselves back where they started, and in an even worse situation.

"You two should take to the trees and leave me," Sakura said firmly as they sheltered in the small hole left by the roots of a fallen tree. "There's no point—"

"Don't be so troublesome," Shikamaru interrupted. "We're not leaving."

"Taking to the trees wouldn't do any good anyway," Sasuke added, motioning towards the branches above them. "The big snakes aren't the only ones."

Sakura looked where Sasuke was pointing, and quickly readied a kunai to fling at the snake coiled in a fork of the tree they were under. But before she could complete the throw, someone else fell into their hiding place, landing squarely on top of her.

"Sakura-chan! What'd I miss?"

"Na...Naruto?" Sakura gasped, then flung her arms around him. "What happened? We thought the snake _ate_ you!"

"I was," Naruto recounted. "But I used my Kage Bunshin and made so many clones that the snake couldn't take it anymore, so it kind of blew up. It was awesome, you know!"

Sakura wrinkled her nose and quickly pushed Naruto away. "Stay away from me while you still have snake inside-bits on you!"

"What happened to being sad because the snake ate me?" Naruto pouted.

"Enough about that," Shikamaru cut in. "The snakes are closing in."

All around them, the monstrous reptiles were forming a scaly wall. However, they were no longer making any attempts to attack, even though the four genin were now incontrovertibly trapped.

"So...what's going on, again?" Naruto asked. "I've been in a snake, remember, I didn't see anything."

"We're not sure," Sasuke replied. "They just pounced on us out of the water. They're a summons, but nothing any genin would have enough chakra for."

"Maybe they want the scrolls?" Naruto suggested.

"Even if that's so, we can't give them up," Sakura said firmly. "If we lose them now, we may not have a chance to get any more."

"At least the snakes aren't attacking right now," Sasuke added. "It gives us a chance to—whoa!" He ducked back just in time as one of the smaller snakes struck out from the trees. "Never mind," he concluded as he dispatched the creature with a kunai.

More snakes followed the first, and soon there was no time for conversation as they fought the reptiles off. Disturbingly, the larger snakes still remained where they were, cutting off any means of escape.

"What do they _want?_" Sakura fumed after several minutes, yanking a few senbon out of a snake she'd killed in order to reuse them. They were all running short of weapons now. "Why don't they just get it over with, instead of dragging it out like this?"

"They're definitely acting on someone's orders," Shikamaru said. "But that doesn't do us much good unless we find out who."

Sasuke quickly went through the seals for a fireball. He had been trying to reserve his chakra in case it was needed for healing, but they needed as much power as they could right now to fight the snakes off.

The fireball fried one snake and blinded several others, but unfortunately it had the added effect of arousing the monstrous snakes which had held back so far. As far as Sasuke could tell, there were four of them, but they were twined together so closely it was hard to tell where each one ended or began. Slowly, they began to coil closer, but still did not strike, arranging their bodies so all four heads were poised above the group of shinobi.

...

Sasuke prepared his last two kunai as the snakes coiled to strike. Behind him, the other three were also readying their last weapons, but he doubted it would do much good.

The first massive head whipped towards them, and Sasuke released his kunai, aiming for the inside of the snake's mouth. Suddenly, the monstrous reptiles vanished, and Sasuke's weapons flew through the few wisps of smoke left behind to bury themselves harmlessly in a tree trunk.

"What just happened?" Sakura gasped.

"Who cares?" Naruto cheered. "They're gone! Come on, let's go to the tower!"

"Let's concentrate on getting away from _here_ first," Sasuke suggested. "Whoever summoned them only called them back, and they might still want to attack us."

After taking a few minutes to catch their breath, they gathered up as many of their scattered weapons as they could before taking to the trees and setting out for the center of the forest. Sasuke considered reminding Team 7 that they had promised to help him get the scroll he needed, but decided it could wait. He didn't want to strain the connection with his new 'teammates' and besides, they weren't likely to run into any other teams for a while, anyway.

...

They were still jumpy some time later, as they began to approach where the tower was located. Once, Sakura had nearly stabbed Shikamaru when he had come up behind her a little too suddenly. Luckily, he had been able to stop her with his shadows before she could seriously injure him, but she still slashed him badly and Sasuke had to use up yet more of his chakra for healing.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Sakura?" Naruto asked after a while. "I'm hungry."

"Shush, Naruto!" Sakura snapped. "Of course I know where I'm going. It's not that hard to find the center of a circular forest, after all." As she was looking back at her teammate, she nearly fell as she grasped for a branch that had broken off but skilfully caught herself on the one below it and bounded back up.

"But Sakura," Naruto persisted a few minutes later, "Didn't we just pass that broken bit a while back?"

"Okay, everybody stop!" Sakura shouted, grabbing Shikamaru as he passed her. Sasuke and Naruto obediently joined them on the branch. "Get ready for a fight," she said quietly. "Genjutsu _kai!_"

The changes in the landscape around them were largely subtle; trees shifting form and position. However, the light filtering through the new trees had suddenly changed its angle, and a trio of large rocks had disappeared to reveal a team with Oto headbands. One of them was the girl Sasuke had been sitting next to during the paper test.

They did not get much time to observe, however, as a blast of wind struck the branch they were perched on, shattering it and forcing them to scatter. Sakura landed on the ground, and was promptly attacked by the Oto kunoichi. Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru were unable to go to her aid as they had their hands quite full with the other two.

A sudden flare of pain as he fell against a tree reminded Sasuke that his ribs were still injured. Shikamaru was exhausted from the previous fight, and Naruto—well, Naruto _seemed_ all right, but that in itself was strange, considering he'd just been eaten by a giant snake. Attempting to conceal his pain as he picked himself up, Sasuke readied himself for another attack. When it did come, nothing any of them could have done would have prepared them for it. A blast of sound seemed to burn all the way through Sasuke's brain, jarring loose all his thoughts and throwing them into an unorganized heap. Gasping in pain, Sasuke fell to his knees. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Shikamaru was in a similar state.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, scrambling unsteadily to his feet.

As his mind cleared a little, Sasuke looked up to see that the Oto kunoichi had forced Sakura to her knees and was holding her roughly by the hair.

"Hand over your scroll or your pretty little teammate gets it!" she shouted, brandishing a handful of senbon to support her threat.

Shikamaru and Naruto held a whispered conference, of which Sasuke could only catch the odd word or two. His head still ached from the strange attack, and he could barely think, let alone fight if it came to that.

"I'm getting impatient!" the Oto girl said after a minute had passed.

Suddenly, Sakura pulled out a kunai that she had hidden under her skirt and raised it above her head.

"What are you going to do?" the Oto kunoichi scoffed. "Cut your hair off?"

"I considered it," Sakura retorted. "I think I have a better idea, though."

Before the Oto ninja could react, Sakura had dropped the kunai, seized her captor's wrist in both hands and flung her skilfully against her leader. As the girl fell, Sakura snatched up some of the senbon she had dropped and prepared to throw them, while Shikamaru used his Shadow Bind to capture the leader and prevent any more sound attacks.

"Whoa, whoa, Sakura-chan!" the Oto girl shouted abruptly, waving her arms in a 'time-out' gesture. "Hold on a second!"

"Pig?" Sakura said questioningly.

"Forehead," the other girl replied.

"Ino, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Long story, trust me. Sai!" she shouted. "Get the other one!"

Ink ropes whipped out from the trees, pinioning the last member of the Oto team before he could ready another wind attack.

"Anyway," the Oto girl (although Sasuke was now convinced that someone else was contained in her body now) continued, "You might as well tie me—well, her, but you know what I mean—and the other one up before Shikamaru's chakra runs out. Wait, just a second..." She dug through the ample pockets of her cargo pants. "Ha-ha! Got it!" she proclaimed, brandishing a scroll. "Kiba, catch!" Sasuke only got enough of a look to tell that it was a Heaven scroll before she flung it behind her into the trees. "Okay, you can tie them up now."

Sakura quickly obeyed. As she finished the last knot, the Oto girl crumpled to the ground, and a blond girl dropped out of a tree above them. "Who's this?" she asked, motioning towards Sasuke, who had joined Sakura along with Naruto and Shikamaru.

"This is Ken-kun," Sakura explained. "He didn't have any team, so we adopted him."

Ino began to reply, but before she could, the other two members of her team joined her. One was the abandoned member of Tenten and Neji's erstwhile team. "Ino," he said quietly, "We've already got a Heaven scroll."

"Well, what do you know!" Sakura chirped. "_We_ just happen to need one! Thank you, bye-bye!"

She snatched the scroll from Kiba's hand and bounded into the trees, Naruto following her. Shikamaru and Sasuke looked at each other in bewilderment before hurrying after them.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled.

...

[A/N: I hope this satisfied the cliffhanger from last chapter (and I swear there was a reason for everything that happened). Two fight scenes in one chapter; either I'm getting better at them, or I'm a glutton for punishment. Hopefully, the next chapter will get us to the prelims...On a different note, I recently began reading Gail Carson Levine's blog. It's mostly keyed towards young authors of original fiction, but her advice is helpful for any kind of writer. And her books are really good, too!]


	10. Part I, Chapter 10: Friends

[A/N: Sorry about the slow update, I had lots of schoolwork; I still do, actually, I'm sitting here typing and doing math problems whenever I hit a rough spot.]

Chapter 10: Friends

Ino's team did not follow them, and Sakura paused a few minutes later. "Ken-kun, you did need the Heaven scroll, right?" Sasuke nodded. "Great," Sakura said, "We're all set, then. All we need to do now is find our way to the tower; that genjutsu really threw me off course but I think I can get us there from here. Is everybody else all right?'

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said.

"A bit low on chakra but I'm okay," Shikamaru reported.

"How about you, Ken-kun?"

"I'll be fine, but I don't have enough chakra left to heal anything serious," Sasuke answered, tossing his head a little to shift his sweat-soaked bangs out of his eyes.

"With any luck you won't have to. All we need to do is keep out of everyone's way and get to the tower as quickly as possible. Follow me!"

Sakura set a brisk pace, and soon no-one had breath left for conversation. As far as Sasuke could tell, they were headed east, and they had been somewhat to the north-east of the tower that morning when they first struck out for it. They had been racing through the trees for almost an hour when Sakura stopped suddenly. Naruto nearly crashed into her, and she glared at him.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, landing on the branch with them. Shikamaru followed close behind.

"The tower," Sakura said, pointing.

The tower had, until now, been hidden by the trees, but they were near enough to see it now. It was a tall, fortress-like building, with tiled roofs and heavily reinforced doors. Unfortunately, Sasuke and Team 7 were not the only ones arriving there.

"Neji's team," Shikamaru stated.

"But they got their second scroll almost right away!" Sasuke said. "What are they doing still here?"

"Trying to pare down the competition, probably," Sakura said. "Let's work our way around behind, maybe they won't see us."

Dropping back a little, Sakura led them in a half-circle around the tower. This side appeared deserted, and they dropped to the cleared ground in front of the doors. As she approached the doors, the others followed, but she waved them back and moved forward cautiously. She hesitated for several seconds, then pushed the latch and jumped back as a barrage of shuriken and senbon struck where she had been standing. Several exploding tags also went off, hiding her from view in a cloud of smoke.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura emerged from the smoke, coughing and waving it away from her face. "Tenten sure does know her stuff," she remarked. "Come on, let's get inside before they come to investigate whether we were caught or not."

The smoke cleared slowly, and Sasuke had to step carefully in order to not impale himself on any of the scattered weapons as he made his way through it. He took the opportunity to pick some of them up—he had been running short since the fight with the snakes and couldn't possibly afford to buy more.

He and Shikamaru reached Sakura first. Naruto stumbled over a few seconds later; apparently he had not been so careful, as he was limping a little bit.

"Okay, everybody's here, and we've got all the scrolls," Sakura said. "Shikamaru, help me with the door."

The doors were just as heavy as they looked, and Sakura and Shikamaru had to use their full strength to push them open. Naruto and Sasuke followed before the doors slammed shut behind them.

"That was kind of ominous, you know," Naruto remarked. "What if there's something else we have to do to pass? We can't get out of here."

"And here I thought you were the eternal optimist," Sakura retorted. "Come on, let's open the scrolls."

Tossing the Heaven scroll to Naruto, Sakura took the Earth scroll herself. Hesitantly, they cracked the wax seals holding them shut, then unrolled the scrolls fully. Sasuke followed their lead, although he had to open his one at a time. Heavy white smoke began to billow from a sealing array inscribed in both scrolls, and he quickly dropped them and jumped back behind a pillar. Looking over to the others, he could see that the same thing was happening to them, so he assumed it was safe and approached the scrolls again.

The smoke dissipated slowly. "Finally!" Anko said, waving the smoke out of her face as she stepped forward. "Now, what have we—wait a second." She looked around in bewilderment. "Both scrolls...the tower...you _passed?_" Sasuke took a step back as she shouted. "You weren't supposed to pass!" Anko continued. "This is _your_ fault!" she growled, stalking over to the chuunin who had appeared out of Team 7's scrolls (Iruka, Sasuke remembered).

"How is it my fault?" Iruka asked.

"He joined up with Team 7, didn't he?"

"There wasn't anything in the rules against it," Iruka pointed out, "And you _did_ write the rules for this test."

"But...he...okay, fine! He passes!" Anko quickly formed a few seals and vanished in a puff of smoke. Everyone stared in bewilderment as the cloudy column slowly dissolved into the air.

"Well, that was interesting," Sakura said finally. "You ran into her before, I take it."

Sasuke nodded.

"Since Anko-san seems to have...left us," Iruka said, "I'll explain things to all of you. This stage of the Chuunin Exams was designed to test teamwork and quick thinking in the field. Satoshi-kun, you clearly understand the importance of teamwork as you joined Team 7. Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-kun, I originally thought you weren't ready for this, but now I believe you are. Good luck."

After this heartfelt speech, the four genin couldn't think of anything to say, and just stood around awkwardly until Naruto jumped on Iruka in an enthusiastic hug. "Yay! We passed! Will you treat me to ramen now, huh?"

"I have work to do, I'm afraid," Iruka said, detaching Naruto's hold and setting him on the ground. "We're still expecting some more teams to complete the test, so you can go home for a while before the next stage starts."

"You mean we have to fight our way _out_ again?" Sakura protested.

"No, there's a subterranean passage leading from the tower. I'll show you out, I was leaving anyway."

...

Iruka escorted them down several flights of stairs and through a long, dimly-lit tunnel to a heavy door fitted with a keypad in the lock. "To keep anyone from using it to cheat," Iruka explained, quickly entering a ten-digit code. The door grated open slowly.

"Sun!" Sakura cheered, shoving Naruto out of the way as she dashed out of the passage.

"She was just in the sun for two days, you know," Naruto said as the others followed her out.

Shikamaru shrugged.

"So, now what?" Sakura said after they had all gathered in the road. Iruka had left them to go do shinobi work.

"I'm going to go home before my mother comes looking for me," Shikamaru said, walking off.

"And now he's probably going to forget he meant to do that and end up looking at the clouds until the sun sets. Where are you staying, Ken-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I...don't really have anywhere to stay," Sasuke admitted.

"Oh. Well, I'd ask you to come to my house, but my mother works at the telephone switchboard all day and she doesn't like it when I bring visitors and she's not there."

"He can come to my apartment!" Naruto announced.

"I shouldn't," Sasuke protested, "I—"

"Oh, come on, we're friends, right?" Naruto interrupted, grabbing Sasuke by the arm and dragging him down the street. "Sakura, you can come too!" he called back at her.

"Sorry, I have to go home!" Sakura shouted, waving at them. "I'll see you tomorrow, though!"

Naruto's apartment building was surprisingly close to the dingy alley where Sasuke had spent his first night in Konoha. It was rather old and a bit decrepit, but neatly painted and well-kept. While Sasuke wasn't quite sure what he expected to see when Naruto opened the front door, he certainly wasn't expecting a couch built out of ramen cups.

"Is that...safe?" he asked.

"Huh?" Naruto looked bewildered until he saw what Sasuke was looking at. "Oh, the couch. Sure it is! What kind do you want, there's miso, pork, shrimp...chicken, but I'd have to take apart the whole armrest to get at that..." he pulled a cup of miso ramen off the back of the couch. The construction was really quite ingenious; the cups were fastened together with putty, holding them securely but allowing easy removal.

"I don't eat ramen," Sasuke said.

"Well then you're missing out! What kind do you—"

"Naruto, I don't eat ramen because I don't _like_ ramen," Sasuke clarified.

For a moment, Sasuke was sure Naruto would pass out, but he finally recovered himself. "You don't _like_ ramen," he said musingly. "You don't like_ramen_. Uh...that's really all I have to eat here, you know, except for the armchair, and I don't think you'd want pocky for dinner."

"That's okay," Sasuke said. "I'll—"

Whatever Sasuke was going to say he would do—and he wasn't exactly sure himself—went unsaid as someone knocked on the door. Sasuke stepped discreetly out of the sight-line of the door as Naruto went to open it. He had long since learned from Itachi that there was no such thing as being overly cautious.

"Hello, everybody!" Sakura said cheerfully. "I brought dinner!"

Naruto looked at her in bewilderment. "I thought you said..."

"Well, then it wouldn't have been a surprise party, would it? Here, take this," she said, shoving a large covered bowl into Naruto's arms, "and Shikamaru's got some fruit his mother sent and I'll cook us some rice." Dragging Shikamaru behind her, she brushed past Naruto into the kitchen. "Naruto, please don't tell me you don't have a rice cooker."

"Well...okay, I won't."

Sakura sighed. "I'll just do it on the stove, then. Oh!" She started as Sasuke entered the kitchen. "Ken-kun. I didn't see you when I came in. Dinner's going to be ready really soon if you want to help clear up or something."

...

Sakura was as good a cook as she was a ninja, and the four hungry children quickly disposed of all the food she brought, and then most of Naruto's armchair for dessert.

"I'd better be getting home," Sakura said finally. "The final part of the exam is probably going to start tomorrow. Come on, Shikamaru. Don't forget your mother's fruit bowl."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled as he followed her out.

"Just us now, then," Naruto said. "Sakura left us all the dirty dishes, you know? But they'll keep till morning. Um...is the couch okay? To sleep on, I mean."

"It's a considerable improvement over a corner in an alley," Sasuke replied.

"Okay, good. I'll go get you a blanket."

Ramen bedding or no, Sasuke slept surprisingly well that night.

...

[A/N: Of course I couldn't pass up a chance to have Anko turn up again. Hopefully we'll see Itachi again in a couple chapters, depending on how long it takes me to write the plot points inbetween. This is mostly an interlude/setup chapter. If any of you read Baby Blues, you might remember Naruto's ramen-and-pocky-box furniture being mentioned there; I thought it made a good conversation piece. By the way, if you like Turning Points, you might want to check out my new story, Timelines, which is my other serious project.]


	11. Part I, Chapter 11: Trial by Combat

[A/N: Sorry about the wait, everybody!]

Chapter 11: Trial by Combat

Sasuke awoke with a start the next morning as several pebbles clattered against the window. Getting up quickly, he backed into the hall only to meet Naruto coming out of the bedroom.

"Don't worry, it's probably just Sakura," Naruto said, pulling the curtains aside and opening the window. "What is it now?" he called down. "We just went to bed, you know!"

"Well, that's your problem!" Sakura yelled back. "All the test-takers need to be at the academy in ten minutes! Now get down here before your neighbors get mad at me!"

Naruto closed the window. "Okay, ten minutes. Now," he continued, more to himself, "If it takes two minutes to boil the water, and three minutes for the ramen to cook, and two minutes to eat it, and six minutes to run to the academy..." he sighed. "I guess I won't be having ramen for breakfast today. Ken, grab a couple boxes of pocky and we'll eat it on the way." Naruto snatched up two apples that had been leftover from the night before and headed out the door. Sasuke followed close behind after detatching two boxes of pocky from the armchair, which now looked more like an end-table.

Sakura and Shikamaru were waiting for them at the base of the stairs. "This is earlier than Kakashi-sensei ever got us up, you know," Naruto complained.

"I know," Sakura retorted, "but I don't think we can afford to dawdle around for three hours, either. Come on, let's go."

...

As they walked towards the academy, they could see the sun rising over the eastern wall of the city. It wasn't like the sunrises Sasuke remembered from Suna, where it was dark and cold one moment and bright and baking the next. Instead, the sun lingered hesitantly over the horizon, tinging the clouds with soft shades of gold and red. Sasuke didn't realize he was hanging back to watch until Sakura shouted to him to hurry up.

There were seven other three-person ninja teams clustered around the door to the Academy's large combat hall as Sasuke and Team 7 reached it. Surprisingly enough, all the Konoha teams had made it successfully through the second test, along with the Suna team and a team from Iwa that Sasuke didn't remember encountering.

"Hello, you three," a familiar voice said suddenly from behind them. Sasuke flinched, resisting the urge to find somewhere to hide.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said in surprise. "You're...you're _early_!"

As the others turned to face their teacher, Sasuke found he had to do so as well or risk looking like he was trying to hide something, but he tried to let the jounin get as little a view of his face as possible.

"I know," Kakashi said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I really am. It wasn't my fault, though. Who's your friend?"

"Oh! This is Ken-kun!" Sakura chirped. Before Sasuke could react, she had flung her arms around his neck, forcing him into a position where he couldn't help facing Kakashi. "He didn't have a team, so we adopted him," she explained.

Kakashi studied Sasuke's face for several tense seconds, but if he recognized Sasuke he hid it well. "So you're what Anko's so upset about," he finally remarked. "She's rewritten the rules for the second test three times already."

"I didn't—" Sasuke began, but Sakura interrupted him.

"They're opening the doors," she said. "Come on, let's get inside, it's freezing out here!"

...

Once inside, the genin were lined up on the recessed floor of the building into rows according to their teams. Somehow, Sasuke ended up in front of Team 7, a far more visible position than he would have liked.

"Hey, there's Kabuto-nii-san!" he heard Naruto whisper to Sakura.

"What! Where? Oh no, he can't see me!" she gasped, ducking down behind Sasuke.

"If everyone will please be quiet," a calm voice said from a slightly raised platform, "then we can get started."

Sasuke was rather surprised by his first look at the Hokage. He was, well, old, for one thing, and looked far too gentle to be the leader of one of the most powerful ninja villages. However, the jounin now gathered around him obviously respected their leader, and Itachi had always told Sasuke that underestimating anyone was one of the worst mistakes a shinobi could make.

He didn't really pay attention to much of the Hokage's speech, which he felt guilty about later. There were far too many people staring at him for him to be comfortable, and he spent most of the time scanning the room for possible escape routes in case he needed one.

"Because of the number of genin still remaining, we are going to have a preliminary round before the main tournament," someone else said. Sasuke promptly started paying attention again, but he had a feeling he'd missed something important.

One of the chuunin was announcing; luckily not Anko. Sasuke could see her standing just behind Kakashi, looking frustrated. "Unfortunately," the chuunin continued, "We have an odd number of contestants. If anyone now wants to retire, they may, as long as we end up with an even number at the end."

Anko stared significantly at Sasuke, but he disregarded her. No one seemed inclined to leave, except Shikamaru, but Naruto and Sakura made sure he couldn't go anywhere.

Finally, a silver-haired boy, with glasses that were miraculously still intact, raised his hand and left. Sasuke heard Sakura sigh with relief behind him and concluded that that must have been the Kabuto she had been so flustered about earlier.

After Kabuto left, two of the Iwa genin retired, leaving twenty-two total contestants. As soon as it was clear that everyone else had no intention of leaving, a panel in the north wall of the building slowly ground open, revealing a blank screen.

"The contestants will be chosen at random," the Chuunin explained, as the names of the remaining examinees began to flash dizzyingly across the screen. Sasuke hoped he wouldn't be one of the first. He was attracting far too much attention as it was.

As the screen finally stopped on two names, most of the genin relaxed. "Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga Neji, please prepare yourselves," the announcer said. "The rest of you, go up to the balcony."

Most of the Jounin were already there, Sasuke realized as he followed Team 7 up the stairs. He hadn't seen any of them move. The Hokage and his entourage had left, along with Anko, to Sasuke's relief. Although her antagonism seemed playful, he couldn't help feeling apprehensive of her.

Team 7 clustered around their teacher, so Sasuke stopped a little distance away from them and leaned on the balcony railing to get a better view.

He recognized Hinata as the shy, dark-haired girl he had stolen the bento from. Neji was one of the three who had attacked him at the beginning of the second test. They shared a family name, so he assumed they were related, but from the way Neji was glaring at Hinata, there was clearly no love lost between them.

"They're cousins, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said in answer to a question Sasuke hadn't overheard. "Hinata is the clan heir. With the Uchiha gone, the Hyuuga are the most powerful clan in Konoha...and they take steps to make sure there isn't any infighting."

Sakura looked curious, but it was clear that Kakashi had no intention of elucidating further.

The two genin were now in taijutsu stances—Neji's firm and textbook perfect, Hinata's adequate but softer and a bit unsure—as they circled each other. Although Sasuke could see Neji saying something, he was too far away to hear the words. Hinata stiffened briefly at the presumed taunt, and Neji took that moment to make his first strike. Hinata fell back as the blow struck her, slightly lessening its force, but she still staggered as it connected. She attempted a counterstrike, which Neji deftly avoided, and soon all that could be seen was a blur of motion as the two Hyuuga tried to get past each other's nearly-identical defenses. However, it was clear that Neji had the advantage both in power and in determination. While Hinata had gotten a few chances to drive home a crippling blow, she was reluctant to hit her cousin with full force and reacted slowly enough for him to avoid her easily. Neji had no such compunctions.

Hinata's jounin teacher and two teammates were standing near Sasuke and Team 7, watching the fight apprehensively. "What's Neji trying to do, kill her?" Chouji said quietly, wincing sympathetically as Hinata took another blow to the chest.

"That is not unlikely," Shino replied calmly.

Sasuke turned away from the railing, absently shoving his hands into his pockets. His fingers brushed against the bento box he had stolen, and he snatched them away guiltily. While he knew Hinata's current situation was in no way his fault, he couldn't help feeling as if he had taken a part in it with his theft.

Finally, Hinata collapsed. Neji glanced briefly at her prone body and turned away with a scornful smile. Chouji headed for the stairs, but Shino grabbed his arm. "Don't interfere yet," he said quietly.

"But—"

"...not yet..." All eyes were on Hinata as she dragged herself to her feet. "Not...done yet," she said, although it was clear she was struggling even to speak.

"Don't be a fool," Neji retorted.

"Be a fool...to give up now, wouldn't I?" Hinata replied with a reckless smile before charging her cousin.

It was all over very quickly. Both the Hyuuga managed to strike at the same time, but Hinata sank to her knees, coughing up blood, while Neji did not seem to be injured badly, if at all.

Hinata's teacher and teammates rushed down the stairs, reaching Hinata at the same time as the medics while Neji's victory was announced. As soon as Hinata was carried out on a stretcher, the screen began flashing through the names for the next duel.

_Oh please,_ Sasuke thought, crossing his fingers, _please, anyone but—_

"Satoshi Ken and Rock Lee."

...

[A/N: Wow, this is only the second time Kakashi's had a speaking role in this story! He's fun to work with though, so look forward to more of him in the future. I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm not so great at writing action scenes, so I kept it down to the absolutely essential-to-the-plot ones in this chapter. It looks like Itachi won't be back till chapter after next. I wanted him in the next chapter, but I want to avoid rushing things more.]


	12. Part I, Chapter 12: Revelation

[A/N: I had a oneshot planned which explained the Sharingan situation, but I haven't been able to finish it yet. Just so you know, Sasuke has the Mangekyou, but Itachi as of yet does not.]

Chapter 12: Revelation

Sasuke had to step around a sizeable pool of Hinata's blood to get to the center of the arena, which didn't make him feel any better about the situation. He had already lost to Lee once, and while he had no desire to repeat the experience, he couldn't think of anything here that he could use to his advantage.

Lee vaulted lightly over the railing, landing facing Sasuke. Quickly running through strategies in his head, Sasuke decided his best chance would be to stay out of reach as long of possible, and then hope he could think of something to do after that. He knew it wasn't much of a plan, but he tried to look more confident than he felt.

"Begin!"

Lee rocketed forward and Sasuke dove to the side barely in time to avoid a kick that would certainly have smashed several ribs. The Sharingan activated instinctively, and he quickly forced it back. While it would have been helpful, he didn't want to risk discovery yet.

As Lee swung through the kick, following through with a solid punch, Sasuke fell back with the blow to lessen the force. He had to create distance between them somehow, but Lee was both fast and astute enough to close any gap between them immediately. With Lee attacking and Sasuke falling back, it wasn't long before they were nearly at the wall, and Sasuke vaulted up to cling to it. Lee backed up; presumably to get a running start, but it gave Sasuke at least a breathing space. Reaching into his pocket for a kunai, he felt a piece of rice paper crinkling in the very bottom. Quickly, he pulled it out, hoping it was what it could be.

It was.

As Lee started his run towards the wall, Sasuke jumped down and dashed for the center of the floor, where he could put his discovery to the best use. Lee's superhuman speed worked against him as he couldn't turn fast enough to catch Sasuke before he set off the smoke tag, engulfing almost a third of their fighting space in thick gray smoke. Now Sasuke had at least a chance, but he would have to end the fight before the smoke dissipated. Activating the Sharingan, he waited for Lee's approach.

Even with the Sharingan, Lee's speed was hard to deal with, but Sasuke could at least tell where he was now, and lead him enough to catch him with a fireball. Lee ran through the flames fast enough to avoid any injuries, however, but Sasuke had been expecting that. That he had been able to hit him at all meant they were on a much more even level.

As Lee ran at him again, Sasuke ducked to one side, flinging two of his remaining kunai. One overshot, but the other made a jagged slash across Lee's chest. Lee promptly turned to retaliate, and Sasuke stepped back to avoid his kick, but his foot slipped and he fell heavily to the cement floor. As he tried to pick himself up, he only had enough time to realize that he had placed his hand squarely in a pool of viscous, red liquid before Lee was on him.

The smoke was beginning to thin out as Sasuke brought his arm up to block Lee's punch, catching it squarely on the arm guards hidden by his loose arm warmers. Something snapped, and he yelped in pain, barely managing to regain his feet before Lee kicked his rib cage in. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Team 7; Sakura clinging white-knuckled to the railing and Naruto practically falling over it in his excitement.

"Oi, Ken!" Naruto shouted. "If you lose you have to treat us all to ramen!"

Now that was certainly an incentive. Sasuke would do just about anything to avoid eating ramen, not to mention the fact that he couldn't afford it at the moment. However, he couldn't see how he could bring this fight to a successful conclusion. The smoke was almost gone, and then he would no longer be able to lose the Sharingan. After that, he would only be able to dodge, and eventually Lee would catch him. There was one way; but it was a considerable risk. Even so, it seemed to be his only option at the moment.

Carefully stepping back into the thickest remnants of the smoke, which were still worryingly thin, he formed a focusing seal and waited for Lee's approach. Luckily for his plan, Lee charged straight on, which gave Sasuke plenty of time to make eye contact.

_"Tsukuyomi."_

Itachi had never been very clear about what the Mangekyou Sharingan did, exactly, and rarely permitted Sasuke to experiment with it so he didn't have much idea of what Lee was being subjected to, but judging by the agonized expression on Lee's face and how quickly he dropped unconscious to the floor it must have been intense.

From the sudden silence all around Sasuke could tell that everyone must have seen the Sharingan. He knew he had to get out of there, and he would—just as soon as the world stopped spinning.

As the fuzziness left his peripheral vision, he could see Kakashi vaulting over the railing, landing on his feet in the arena. Galvanized into action, Sasuke bolted for the lower door, which had been left open through both fights to provide a flow of fresh air. Once he made it outside, he took a straight route out of the Academy grounds, nearly knocking Iruka over as he sprinted across a path.

Kakashi caught up to him before he could reach the gate. Sasuke tried to break his grip and run, but quickly found himself seized around the waist and pulled off his feet, with his forehead protector shoved down over his eyes. Realizing how futile his situation was, Sasuke stopped fighting. He would have to get away from here, but he would wait until he had a better chance of success.

Running footsteps came up quickly from behind, stopping beside Kakashi. "What on earth is going on, Sensei?" Iruka's voice demanded. "Satoshi-kun, are you—"

Abruptly, Kakashi shoved Sasuke into Iruka's arms. "I'll explain later," he said. "Bring him along, will you? I've got to go speak to the Hokage about this." His voice was fading into the distance before he finished speaking.

"Iruka-san," Sasuke began after several moments of silence, "You can put me down. I'm not going to run away or anything."

Iruka set Sasuke on the ground, but did not let go of him, which Sasuke was grateful for as he would otherwise have fallen flat on his face in the gravel walkway. With the brief burst of adrenaline gone, he was feeling the full effects of the massive chakra drain required by Tsukuyomi. Quickly, Iruka took Sasuke by the arm to steady him, eliciting a pained yelp.

"Are you hurt, Satoshi-kun?" Iruka asked, taking his hand more gently this time. "Blood?"

Sasuke pulled his forehead protector off so he could see; it wasn't as if he had any more chakra to spare for the Sharingan, anyway. "Oh, that," he replied fuzzily, realizing that his hand was still coated in Hinata's blood.. "Not mine. At least, I don't think it's mine."

Iruka frowned. "Even so, I'm going to get you to the hospital. Someone needs to have a look at that arm."

"But Kakashi said—" Sasuke began, before realizing the circumstances were working to his advantage. Still, he didn't want Iruka to get in trouble.

"I don't especially care what Kakashi said," Iruka replied. "You're in no condition to see the Hokage right now, whatever the reasons may be. Come on, let's go."

"Do you happen to know what the reasons are?" Iruka asked a short time later, as they neared the hospital.

Sasuke shrugged as best he could without losing his balance. "Not exactly." Itachi had only told him not to let anyone see the Sharingan, not what would happen if they did.

"Don't worry about it," Iruka said reassuringly. "I"m sure everything will turn out fine."

While Sasuke wasn't quite sure he believed him, it was nice to know there was someone on his side, at least.

When they arrived at the hospital, it turned out that most of the personnel were busy with Hyuuga Hinata and a Chuunin team that had just come back from a nasty mission, so Iruka had to check Sasuke in at the front desk himself.

"I think I can fix you up as much as is needed, anyway," Iruka explained. "When you've been an academy teacher as long as I have you pick up a large amount of first aid."

Luckily, there were elevators, so Sasuke didn't have to walk all the way up the stairs. Iruka ushered Sasuke into the first unoccupied room he found and made him sit down before cutting off his armwarmer. Sasuke protested at this, but Iruka insisted, with good reason, as it turned out. The guard he had been wearing underneath, made of narrow metal strips linked together by leather straps, had been broken in several places by Lee's punch, driving the sharp edges into Sasuke's arm. Sasuke didn't care about the pain so much as the ruined guard—equipment was hard to come by and it would take months to save up enough to replace it.

"Can you move your fingers?" Iruka asked after he had removed all the metal shards and cleaned the cuts left behind.

"Yes, I think—ah! I mean, no," Sasuke replied, wincing with pain as he attempted it.

"Then there's a good chance your arm is fractured, as well," Iruka said, taking a roll of bandages out of a cabinet and beginning to wrap Sasuke's arm. "I can splint it temporarily, but otherwise it's a bit beyond me so I'll leave a message for someone to come by and look at it later. As for the chakra exhaustion, a good rest should help with that. I'll make sure no one comes after you for a few hours, at least."

After splinting Sasuke's arm with some of the intact strips of metal he cut from the ruined guard, Iruka stood to leave. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Satoshi-kun?" he asked.

"Could you open the window?" Sasuke asked. He wasn't really expecting his request to be granted, but Iruka obligingly raised the blinds and opened the window. Sasuke felt slightly less trapped after this, even though the room was three stories up and someone would likely try to stop him if he left through the door.

With the exhaustion of the morning, plus the rest of the exams, catching up to him, he decided to act on Iruka's suggestion of a nap. He fell asleep almost immediately, and didn't even notice a few hours later when the screen was carefully popped out of the windowframe.

...

[A/N: There is no evidence for the armguards in the source material, but there has to be some reason for those armwarmers and bandages, etc. that seem to be so popular. I know the last couple chapters have been kind of short, but the next one should make up for that. Happy 4th of July, everybody!]


	13. Part I, Chapter 13: Konoha

[A/N: Before I forget, (like I have, a lot; I'm so sorry!) thanks very much to vanelo159 for beta-ing Turning Points!]

Chapter 13: Konoha

The Hokage had already returned to his office when Kakashi arrived. Unfortunately, he was not there alone, and Kakashi had to wait for almost half an hour before he could see the Hokage. When he did, it was to find that the one person he most wanted to keep this information from was there, and did not seem to have any intention of leaving. Requesting that Danzo leave would only serve to pique his interest, so Kakashi decided to get it over with: Danzo always found out about everything anyway.

"Hokage-sama," he began tentatively, trying to figure out how to word what he was about to say, "We have a bit of a...situation...concerning the Chuunin exams."

"More about Ororchimaru?" the Hokage asked, leaning over the desk.

"No," Kakashi replied.

"But important enough that you would chance not seeing your students fight?"

"Yes. You see, the entrant from Getsu is an Uchiha."

Kakashi immediately had the Hokage's full attention, and just as much of Danzo's, although he was more discreet about it. "You are sure about this?" the Hokage asked.

"I saw him use the Sharingan. Iruka's bringing him here, you can see for yourself."

"Are you sure that he is an Uchiha, and that he doesn't just have the eyes?" Danzo cut in.

Kakashi shrugged. It was bad enough that Danzo had to hear about it at all, but Kakashi wasn't about to let him take over the conference. "Hokage-sama, what should we do? All of the other entrants saw as well; if we let him leave, one of the other villages will pick him up sooner or later."

"And like as not kill him for the eyes," the Hokage added. Kakashi was about to speak again, but the Hokage raised one gnarled hand. "However, if he is registered in Getsu, there is little we can do to force him to remain here."

"The papers he would have needed were easily forged," Kakashi pointed out. "He had no teacher, no team. A message could be sent to—"

"You are, of course," Danzo interrupted, in a tone which made very clear his poor opinion of Kakashi's competence, "Discounting the possibility that he may be a spy?"

"If he is, he certainly wasn't very well trained," Kakashi retorted, keeping his tone just short of insubordination. Before Danzo could reply, the door opened and Iruka walked in alone. "Where's the kid?" Kakashi asked shortly.

"I left him at the hospital," Iruka replied. "What's—"

"You left him _alone?_ I said to bring him here!"

"Considering that he barely made it to the hospital, I wasn't about to drag him here to be interrogated!" Iruka snapped back. "It's not as if he's going to be going anywhere!_In _case you hadn't noticed, he'd just been through the Chuunin exams—which he was hardly old enough to be ready for, by the way, and especially not by himself—and—"

"All right, all right!" Kakashi cut in, adopting the conciliatory tone of voice he would use with a testy cat. "No need to get so overprotective about it! Hokage-sama, I'll go get him."

He headed for the door, only to find that Iruka was now blocking it. "Get out of the way!" Kakashi hissed. He didn't need to look any worse in front of Danzo, and Iruka really wasn't helping.

Iruka, of course, proceeded to be even more unhelpful. "I will not! The boy's chakra was completely exhausted, and he's in no condition to do anything but rest for at least the next few hours!"

"Kakashi-san," the Hokage said calmly before Kakashi could retort, "There is no need for us to be in too much of a hurry about this. We can discuss the situation after the preliminaries, when the other Jounin will be available." Danzo was smirking noticeably, but the Hokage was gracious enough to limit himself to vague amusement.

"Very well, Hokage-sama," Kakashi acquiesced, before hurrying out of the office. Hopefully, he wouldn't have missed too many of the fights; and he would have to think of some way to explain the situation to Team 7.

...

_...blood...cherry trees...a full moon tinged red by flame..._

Caught again in the now almost familiar dream-memory, Sasuke did not wake until he heard the footsteps on the tiled floor of the hospital room. Startled, he snatched out one of the few kunai he had left, but did not get a chance to throw it before his wrist was siezed.

"Do be careful, Otouto."

"N-nii-san!" Sasuke gasped in relief. "But what are you doing here?"

"You caused quite a commotion earlier today, I heard," Itachi said. He didn't answer Sasuke's question, but Sasuke was used to things like that.

"I know," Sasuke replied. "I'm sorry. But...I would have lost the fight if I hadn't, and—"

"That might perhaps have been preferable," Itachi said quietly, turning to look out the open window.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked worriedly. Even if he was used to his brother being cryptic, it didn't make it any the less confusing. "Are we going to have to leave? I don't have anything, so—"

"You're not leaving," Itachi interrupted.

"But—but everyone _saw," Sasuke protested._

"Exactly," Itachi said. "It is no longer safe for us to be together; you will have to stay here."

"Wha—but Nii-san, what are you going to do?" And why the sudden change? Their being together had always been the most important thing before: even above getting enough to eat sometimes. Sasuke had no idea what to do if left alone—before, it had been all right, since he knew it would be temporary, but now...

"That is of small importance," Itachi replied. "I am sorry." He poked Sasuke in the forehead, but the familiar action was more sad than playful this time.

Sasuke grabbed Itachi's sleeve before he could turn away. "Nii-san, you can't just _leave!"_

"I am afraid I must." Itachi gently detached his arm from Sasuke's grip. As he did so, his sleeve shifted upwards, exposing a dark mark on his wrist: a pinwheel-like shape encircling what looked like fang marks.

Sasuke frowned. "Nii-san, what's that?"

"It's nothing," Itachi said as he pulled his sleeve down, in a tone that usually meant the end to a discussion. However, Sasuke was not about to be put off today.

"It doesn't look like nothing," he continued, grabbing for Itachi's sleeve again. "Did something bite you? Are you—"

"Leave me _alone!"_

Sasuke flinched, unable to more than blink in shock as Itachi slapped his hand away. His brother never shouted, ever. And he had never struck Sasuke, even when he was livid. "N-nii-san?" he whispered, taking a step back as he felt the sudden darkness in Itachi's chakra.

Itachi took a few deep breaths before answering shakily. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I must go."

Almost before Sasuke could react, Itachi was gone through the open window.

"No, don't go!" Sasuke called out, scrambling up on a small cabinet so he could lean out the window. Already his brother was nowhere in sight, but Sasuke remained at the window, desperately hoping Itachi would come back.

...

"What are you going to do? Jump?"

Sasuke started at the amused drawl, and nearly fell off the cabinet.

"It's three stories down, you know," Kakashi said as Sasuke turned around. "The elevator's much safer. The Hokage wants to see you, let's go."

Sasuke's expression must have betrayed some of the apprehension he felt, for Kakashi gave his shoulder a surprisingly gentle pat as he climbed down from the cabinet. "Don't worry about it. Everyone's just a bit confused, is all."

Sasuke shrugged Kakashi's hand off as they reached the hall. If the Jounin recognized him from River Country, he would have plenty to worry about—and Itachi wouldn't be there to rescue him this time. Some of his dark mood must have been palpable, for Kakashi made no further attempt at conversation as they walked through the streets to the Hokage's office. The streets were largely empty, but Sasuke felt certain that the few people they passed must be staring at him.

Luckily it was only a few flights of stairs up to the floor where the Hokage's office was, as the walking was beginning to jar Sasuke's injured arm. However, Sasuke couldn't help but feel it was all to soon before Kakashi ushered him into the room.

The Hokage's office, while large, was simply appointed, with merely a desk and a few chairs, all but one of which were occupied at the moment. Iruka was there, to Sasuke's great relief. At least someone here was on his side. The man sitting behind the Hokage, however...while Itachi had taught him not to overestimate his instincts, this was one time Sasuke was sure his first impression was correct. Besides the fact that anyone who covered most of their face in bandages must have something to hide (such as a stolen doujutsu, to name one option), Sasuke really didn't like the way the man was staring at him.

The Hokage, looking up from some papers on the desk, motioned for Sasuke to sit in the remaining chair, which he did after some gentle prodding from Kakashi.

"Let us begin by getting straight to the point," the Hokage said. "If we were to contact Getsugakure, would they find that you were actually in their shinobi register?"

Itachi was good at forging, but not that good, not with such a short preparation time. This whole scheme had been riding on the assumption that Konoha wouldn't check. "No," Sasuke admitted.

"Entering the Chuunin exams under false pretenses comes with a considerable penalty." Iruka straightened in his chair, clearly about to protest, but the Hokage continued before he could speak. "But I believe we can come to a suitable arrangement. First, however, there are a few questions we're very eager to hear the answers to. Your real name, to begin with?"

There was little point in giving a false name now. "Uchiha...Sasuke."

Iruka gasped. "No, seriously, kid," Kakashi said.

"But I am!" Sasuke insisted in bewilderment. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing's wrong with it," Kakashi replied. "It's just that—" the Hokage looked at him with an expression that clearly said _shut up, _and Kakashi didn't say anything more, to Sasuke's frustration. There was obviously some secret being kept here, perhaps something to do with why he and Itachi had fled the village, but of course they would have no intention of telling him, and Sasuke didn't want to overbalance his already precarious position by asking questions.

"And you have been where, and with whom, until now?"

This was going to be a bit of a problem. Since he couldn't tell them about Itachi, he was going to have to make up some sort of convincing story, and the fact that he didn't actually know what had happened that fateful night wasn't going to make it any easier. However, he had only been asked 'where were you?' and not the rather more difficult 'why are you alive?', which helped some.

"I was working with a group of shinobi from Ame," he began. There was a fine line to follow when telling a convincing lie: he couldn't appear too confident, or they would think he had practiced this story beforehand, but conversely he couldn't look too nervous. "Not missing-nin, you know, but unregistered." This would preclude any search of Ame bingo books. "I was the youngest, so we decided that if I could prove I was at Chuunin level we'd have better luck getting jobs. We did some research, forged the papers...and you know the rest, I guess."

Either they bought it or didn't want to accuse him of lying yet. Iruka was probably the former. Kakashi and whoever was sitting behind the Hokage were more likely the latter. The Hokage was hard to read; Sasuke couldn't decide whether or not it looked like he believed the story.

"I see," the Hokage said finally. "So now we come to more important things...We cannot allow you to leave the village."

Sasuke sighed. There was really no point to any of this without Itachi. He had taken the Chuunin exams so they wouldn't be separated—and it had been the means of separating them. Now what? Prison?

...

[A/N: I'm considering writing some short scenes as character tests for some of the fanfictions currently in the planning stage. If anyone is interested in reading these, please message me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (And please tell me what you think, okay?)]


	14. Part I, Chapter 14: A Whole New World

[A/N: Turning Points has almost a hundred reviews now! Thank you _so much,_ everybody! I just got my own computer, so hopefully that will mean faster updates. Also, I'm going to college soon, so we'll see how that affects everything.]

Chapter 14: A Whole New World

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka protesting, jumping to his feet, "you can't—"

"Calm down, Iruka-sensei," the Hokage ordered. "It's not what you think."

Sasuke looked up, slightly relieved but now even more confused. "What do you mean?" he asked. The Hokage responded by pushing a pile of papers across the desk. Sasuke took them, frowning as he tried to puzzle out the kanji. He had a feeling this would be a very bad time to admit he didn't know how to read. "Genin Registration Form," he read finally. "But..."

"The Uchiha Clan was originally one of the most prestigious in the village," the Hokage explained. "If you joined us, not only would it increase the village's reputation, but it would also ensure your safety."

"My safety?" Considering how he had been treated up to now, Sasuke hadn't thought his safety came into the equation.

"The Sharingan is one of the most powerful of the Kekkei Genkai," Kakashi said. "Ergo, a lot of people would be willing to kill you for it."

That seemed to make sense. However..."I don't see what's to prevent you from doing the same thing," Sasuke pointed out bluntly.

The Hokage nodded. "I agree. But I assure you we have no intentions in that regard. In any case, in order to prevent one of the other villages from...acquiring...the Sharingan, you must remain here. Whether or not you wish to become a Konoha shinobi is your choice."

Sasuke studied the papers again. Other than that he would be signing an awful lot of things, he couldn't figure out much. "So either I join you, or what, you put me in jail?"

"If necessary," the Hokage replied calmly.

There didn't seem to be any other options, so Sasuke took the pen Iruka offered him and started signing. It wasn't like there was anything for him outside the village now, with Itachi gone to who-knows-where.

"Where have you been staying, Sasuke-kun?" the Hokage asked as Sasuke handed the papers back. He looked them over briefly, then opened a drawer in the desk and removed a headband with a leaf emblem engraved in the surface.

"Well, I stayed at Naruto's apartment last night..." Sasuke replied, nervously twisting the cloth of the headband. He didn't want to mention that before that he had been sleeping in alleys and stealing from the market.

"That should be adequate," the Hokage said before shifting his attention to the Jounin. "Kakashi-san, you will accompany Sasuke-kun there, and then return so we can discuss other matters."

Sasuke stood nervously. If they did want to kill him, this would be their best chance. However, he could sense no killing intent from any of them...at least, not as far as he could tell. There might have been faint wisps radiating off the man sitting behind the Hokage, the one who hadn't said anything throughout the entire conference.

Perhaps sensing Sasuke's tension, Iruka also stood, but the Hokage motioned him down again. "I need you here, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka shrugged and sat down again, and Sasuke allowed Kakashi to lead him out of the room. "Here, let me help you with that," the jounin said as the office door closed behind them, gently tugging the headband out of Sasuke's hands. Sasuke stood still while Kakashi tucked the headband under his bangs and tied the straps securely behind his head. As Sasuke had personal experience in how good with knots Kakashi was, he wouldn't have to worry about this one coming loose for quite some time.

Sasuke didn't recognize the route they took to Naruto's apartment building until they were only a few blocks away. When he had gone there with Naruto, they had taken a straight route through the market, but Kakashi kept to the less-traveled streets. Sasuke wasn't sure whether that was the jounin's preference or he was doing it for Sasuke's benefit.

He started to trail behind as they neared the apartment. Naruto was sure to ply him with questions, and he wasn't sure how many of those he could answer. Kakashi ignored his reluctance and escorted him firmly to the front door. To Sasuke's surprise, the jounin didn't even bother to knock, but merely pushed the door open and walked in, pushing Sasuke ahead of him.

Naruto was sitting in the middle of the living room surrounded by pocky boxes; Sasuke counted at least four different kinds. When they walked in, he was busily rebuilding the armchair, but he jumped to his feet when they walked in. "Sensei! What're you doing here? And Ken! What happened? Huh? Huh? Why'd you run away? You totally won, you know! It was awesome! Want some ramen? No, you don't like ramen, want some pocky? Hey, why've you got a Konoha headband?" Sasuke had never known anyone could talk that fast, but he managed to decipher most of it.

"Sasuke-kun's going to be staying with you for a few days," Kakashi interjected once Naruto paused to breathe. Hearing the new name, Naruto started to ask yet more questions, but Kakashi interrupted him. "Don't make him tell you everything all at once. Well, I've got to go now. I have five different things I have to be late for." He vanished in a puff of shunshin-smoke before either of the boys could react.

Naruto shrugged and shoved a pile of pocky boxes into Sasuke's arms. "Want to help?"

Half an hour later, the armchair looked like an armchair again, albeit a rather strange one, and there had been enough pocky boxes left over for them to make a small footstool and still have some left over. To Sasuke's surprise, Naruto hadn't asked a single question after the first outburst. He doubted whether the exuberant blond could hold his curiosity in check much longer.

"So...what's up?" Naruto finally asked, as they scraped up stray bits of putty from the floor.

"It's a long story..." Sasuke hedged.

"You ought to hear Sakura when she gets going. I don't mind long stories at all, you know?"

Sasuke sighed. "Where do you want me to start?"

"I dunno. The beginning, I guess." Naruto's voice trailed off as he headed into the kitchen. "_Sure_ you don't want any ramen?" he called a few moments later.

"Yes, I'm sure," Sasuke responded firmly.

"Your loss," Naruto retorted. There was a pop-hiss as he turned the gas stove on. "Okay, so...the beginning?"

Sasuke told Naruto approximately what he had told the Hokage, plus everything that had happened since he had been discovered.

"Wow," Naruto said finally. "That's—wow. So, you were the heir to one of the most powerful clans in the village and you didn't even know? Are you rich now, or something?"

"I knew I was an Uchiha," Sasuke explained. "I just never knew I was the heir." Apparently that was something Itachi had not seen fit to tell him. How many other secrets were there? "And no, I'm not rich. The clan compound burned, I think."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, there's a lot of shops there now. But, um, what are you going to do now? Will you be on one of the genin teams?"

Sasuke shrugged. " I have no idea. Anyway, what happened after I left? I never got to see your fight."

Naruto was only too glad to change the subject.

...

"...and so then Shino's bugs were all like _bzzzz_ and Shino was all like 'meh' because he never acts like he cares about anything even when he's in the middle of a fight and anyway my clones were all like_ splat! squash! pow!_ and it was awesome, you know!"

"Then what?" Sasuke asked, starting on a second box of pocky.

"Oh! Then he said 'stop squashing the bugs!' and I said 'nuh-uh!' so he quit. I guess he kind of liked the bugs, or something. Anyway, I won, because I'm totally the best ninja in the village!"

"What about Sakura and Shikamaru?"

"Well...are you sure you want to hear about Sakura's fight? Because she kind of lost. I mean, she tried, you know? But the giant snakes and you running away really freaked her out."

"Who was she fighting?"

"Um...the girl who...throws things, you know? Tenten! Yeah, that's it. Sakura almost had her at first, but she's not a long-range fighter. They had to take her to the hospital, but Sensei said she'd be all right in a couple days. Shikamaru fought Ino. He just grabbed her in his shadow-thingy and let her yell at him until she gave up. It was kind of boring, it took like two hours. She didn't repeat herself once, though," Naruto laughed. "Hey, leave some pocky for me!"

The next minute or so was taken up by an energetic scuffle for the remainder of the green tea pocky, ending with Sasuke doubled up on the floor in pain after a kick to his injured arm and Naruto apologizing profusely. Sasuke didn't really mind the pain, though, because it meant he got to keep the rest of the pocky.

...

The next morning, Sasuke and Naruto went to visit Sakura in the hospital. At first, the nurse didn't want to let them see Sakura, but they begged until she acquiesced just to get them to go away. Shikamaru was already there—he had just sneaked in without bothering to ask the nurse.

"Hello, boys," Sakura greeted them. She was a little pale, but other than that and the wide bandage around her head she looked all right.

"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto chirped. "We brought you pocky!"

Sakura nearly squealed in delight as she tore open a box. "You have _no idea_ how much I have been craving something like this," she said. "The food here is_ _awful."__

"But Sakura," Naruto pointed out, "you've only been here since yesterday afternoon."

"Well that doesn't make the food any better, does it? Now," she continued, "tell me the truth. Does my hair look as awful as Shikamaru's afraid to tell me?"

Sasuke hadn't noticed her hair yet. Now that he looked, he could see that one side had been cut off very raggedly just below Sakura's shoulderline, making her look very asymmetrical. He said this, and she promptly threw one of the unopened pocky boxes at him—but not very hard.

"That Tenten and her shuriken," she grumbled. "Everybody's been after me to cut it, anyway. I'll just even it out and leave it at that." Suddenly she paused. "Ken, are you wearing a Konoha headband, or is that the concussion talking?"

Sasuke now had to tell the whole story over again to the other two members of Team 7.

They didn't take it nearly as well.

Where Sakura's cheerful friendship had been, there was now—awe? deference? Whatever it was, Sasuke didn't like it. She didn't have to treat him differently; he was still the same person, only the circumstances had changed. He did his best to convince Sakura of that, but he wasn't sure it did much good.

Shikamaru didn't say anything. That worried Sasuke more than all the rest.

...

[A/N: I'm going on a trip the first two weeks of August, so no updates during that time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Early-days Naruto is super fun to write. (also, I would just like to specify: Sakura's hair is now a bit shorter, but not quite as much as in canon)]


	15. Part I, Chapter 15: Exploration

[A/N: I'm baack! I just realized that we are almost to the end of Part I (eek!). I have a poll up again for what story I'm going to start next; I'll probably start one after I finish Part I. That reminds me, I need to get to some oneshots which, although not entirely essential to the plot, will certainly explain a few points. Not to mention the brotherfluff.]

Chapter 15: Exploration

After visiting the hospital, Sasuke wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with himself. He didn't think he wanted to show off his new headband to the whole village, but he didn't want to be trapped inside, either.

Naruto eventually offered to train with him after Sasuke nearly wore a hole in his none-too-new carpet. As Naruto had all kinds of secret routes through the city, they were able to reach one of the remote training grounds without being seen.

They threw kunai and shuriken at targets for a while—Sasuke was somewhat better than Naruto at this—then settled down to sparring.

Sasuke quickly realized that this might not have been the best idea because of his injured arm, but at least Naruto went relatively easy on him. Where did the blond get all his chakra? Sasuke knew he had a fair amount himself, but what Naruto could do was ridiculous.

The spar ended with Sasuke flat on his face in the dirt, with three of Naruto's clones sitting on his back.

"Give up now?" the real Naruto asked, dropping down in front of him.

"Yeah, sure," Sasuke conceded. The clones dissolved, and he got wearily to his feet.

"Hey, hey, Ke—uh, Sasuke," Naruto chirruped, grabbing Sasuke by the arm and pulling him back towards the village, "Since you lost you have to do something for me, you know?"

"Really?" That had not been agreed on. Still, Sasuke wasn't entirely unwilling to go along.

"Yeah! You have to come and try Ichiraku Ramen!"

That, however, was crossing a line. Sasuke promptly dug his heels into the dirt and wrenched his arm out of Naruto's grip. "No."

"I promise you'll like it!"

Sasuke sighed. It was clear that he wasn't going to get any peace if he refused. Well, for the sake of his friendship, he could stand to choke down a bowl of ramen. "Okay, fine, but then you have to do something for me."

"Okay!" Naruto darted off and Sasuke had to sprint to keep up. Almost before he knew what was going on, he found himself perched on a stool in the little ramen stand, looking down dubiously at a steaming bowl of noodles.

...At least it wasn't _instant_ ramen.

By the time Sasuke managed to finish the ramen, a feat he was not sure he would be able to accomplish again, Naruto had inhaled seven bowls. There was definitely something strange about that kid.

"So, what'd you think?" Naruto asked eagerly as they walked away from the ramen stand.

"Never again," Sasuke said firmly. He had tried to not dislike it, he really had, but it didn't do any good.

Naruto shook his head with a sorrowful expression. "I tried," he announced to no one in particular, gesturing sadly at the clouds. "Some people just don't understand. Now he'll be doomed to go through life, forever—"

"Oh, come on!" Sasuke interrupted. "You don't have to be so theatrical about it! It's not like I'm swearing off food altogether!"

Naruto shrugged. "Ramen is ramen. Food is food. I can do without food, but not without ramen…So anyway, what did you want me to do? And remember I just treated you to ramen, you know."

For just that reason, Sasuke was somewhat reluctant to make his request. "I…was hoping you could lend me some money."

"Huh? What for?"

This was going to be embarrassing. "I wanted to buy some…flowers…for Hinata," he finished quietly. If he went to bring flowers to the injured girl, he would have an excuse to return the stolen bento box.

"Hinata-chan? Okay, I think I have a few…here," Naruto said, rummaging in his pockets and pulling out a handful of small change. "The flower shop is that way," he continued, pointing down a road leading to the business district. "Just don't mention that you were with Team 7, I think Ino's still mad about Shikamaru beating her."

Sasuke nodded in understanding, and the two boys went their separate ways.

…..

The Yamanaka Flower Shop was surprisingly well-kept, Sasuke thought as he approached the door. Flowers were not the sort of thing one would usually expect there to be a demand for in a ninja village, but this shop obviously saw very good business.

A bell chimed lightly as Sasuke pushed the door open. As he stepped tentatively inside, he was nearly overwhelmed by the sweet scent of flowers. Bright cascades of vines tumbled from hanging baskets and colorful bundles surrounded the entire room. In the center of the room was a delicate display of potted orchids and ikebana, and on the counter were a few small blossoms preserved in crystal. All in all, it presented an impression of unregimented beauty.

"Just a minute!" Ino's sharp voice called from behind a beaded curtain in the back of the room. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she said a moment later, as she emerged with a basket of cut sunflowers. "You're…oh, I can't remember! But you're taking the Chuunin exams, right?"

Sasuke nodded, glad she hadn't said anything about the Konoha headband.

"So. What can I do for you?" Ino asked, setting the basket down and leaning over the counter.

"Well…I wanted to buy some flowers. But I guess that's obvious," Sasuke laughed nervously.

"Most people who come in here want flowers, yes," Ino agreed. "Can you be a bit more specific?"

"It's for someone who's hurt," Sasuke told her. He didn't want to mention Hinata's name.

"That, I can work with. Do you want 'Get well soon' flowers, or 'Cheer up' flowers, or 'I'm sorry' flowers?"

"All three, I suppose."

"And your budget?" Ino asked.

Sasuke deposited the coins Naruto had given him on the counter. "I have, um…fifty…seventy-five…one hundred…and twenty-eight…" He remembered the five-ryo coin he already had and added that to the small pile. "One hundred and thirty-three ryo. That's not very much, is it?"

"No…" Ino said thoughtfully. "Tell you what," she said, "I'll give you a discount, since you're a new customer. Wait right there, okay?"

She darted back behind the curtain, humming to herself. Sasuke couldn't make out any of what she was doing, but she remained there for some time. Finally, she returned, carrying a generous bouquet of flowers in a narrow basket. The handle of the basket looked rather impractical, as it was nearly buried in the flowers, but it certainly looked very nice. Sasuke didn't have much experience with flowers and such, so he couldn't form an opinion beyond that.

"Here you go," Ino said, handing Sasuke the basket. Sasuke took this opportunity to examine it a bit more closely. Large, fluffy pink flowers caught his attention right away, along with some smaller blooms that were such a deep red they were almost brown. Along with these were more pink flowers of a more delicate sort, and some soft clusters of purple, formed into tall spines.

"Thank you very much," Sasuke said, "But—" He had read some of the prices while waiting for Ino to return, and his little handful of small change couldn't possibly pay for the basket, let alone the flowers in it.

"Don't worry, your first purchase is on the house," Ino assured him with a smile. "Just buy me some flowers for Valentine's day, okay? I'll pick them out myself." She winked teasingly, pushing the heap of coins back across the counter.

Sasuke pocketed them gratefully, then left, the little bell tinkling again as he went out.

Navigating over the tiled roofs of the city while dealing with both an injured arm and a basket of delicate flowers proved to be quite difficult. Fortunately, it was not hard to find the Hyuuga residence; according to a conversation Sasuke had overhead at the hospital, she had been moved there as soon as her condition stabilized enough to warrant it.

After whatever had happened to the Uchiha had happened to them, the Hyuuga clan was the largest in Konoha, and their clan compound was both sizeable and crowded. Sasuke decided not to go to the gate, instead circling around the back until he found a large tree that hung over the wall. In the process of climbing it, he nearly dropped the basket, but finally managed to get both it and himself safely over the wall. That done, it was only a matter of staying out of sight and tracking down Hinata from her chakra signature.

The building Hinata was in was small and situated as far from the noisy main square of the compound as possible. Due to this, Sasuke could get to it without passing through any of the main pathways. It had probably been built specifically for the purpose of housing recovering shinobi. As far as Sasuke could tell, Hinata was the only one in the building besides two or three cats, but he approached cautiously just to be sure.

There was a window in Hinata's room, facing out towards a small herb garden. Being careful not to crush any of the plants, Sasuke scrambled up to perch on the sill. He had never gotten a very good look at Hinata's face before. She was very pretty in a much more refined, delicate way than Sakura, bringing to mind the geisha Sasuke and Itachi had occasionally worked with. She was asleep, and her face nearly matched the white sheets.

Sasuke gently pushed the window open and dropped into the room, intending to leave the flowers and bento box without being seen. However, just as he leaned down to place the basket on her bedside table, a white cat leapt on to the bed and curled up by Hinata's hand. Hinata stirred and mumbled something, and Sasuke stood frozen as her pale eyes blinked open, staring straight into his.

"Please don't scream!" Sasuke said quickly as Hinata sat up. This injunction proved unnecessary as she went into a coughing fit, gasping for breath. Sasuke's first instinct was to make his escape while she was distracted, but there was no one else nearby to come to her aid. Gingerly, he gathered a small amount of healing chakra to his uninjured hand, placing it against her chest until her breathing steadied.

"All right then," Sasuke said, placing the bento box beside the flowers, "You're okay now, so I'll just, um, go, and—hey, let go!"

"P-please wait," Hinata said quietly, refusing to release her grip on Sasuke's wrist.

"Well…okay." Sasuke obediently sat down on the edge of the bed. It wasn't as if he had any pressing engagements, anyway. The cat promptly jumped into his lap.

Hinata smiled. "Thank you. I-I haven't had anyone to talk to. You were taking the Chuunin Exams, weren't you?"

"Yes, I am," Sasuke replied, stroking the cat as it thrust its head under his hand.

Hinata nodded. "That's Sachiko, by the way," she said, indicating the cat Sasuke was holding. "Midori is probably hiding somewhere, and Akira most likely jumped outside as soon as you opened the window."

"Are they your cats?" Sasuke asked. Hinata certainly seemed much more sure of herself when she spoke about them.

"Well, Midori is actually Hanabi's, but she hasn't been paying much attention to her lately." She frowned, a thoughtful expression on her face. "B-but what are you doing here? With the flowers a-and my bento box. Where did you find it?"

That question was exactly why Sasuke was sneaking in in the first place. "Well…I was…I…didn't exactly find it," he stammered after an uncomfortable pause.

Hinata looked confused.

"I stole it," Sasuke admitted. "And after the forest, when you fought your cousin I just…anyway, I'm sorry."

Strangely enough, Hinata did not appear to be angry. "Th-that wasn't your fault," she said quietly. "I'm s-sure you had a good reason, anyway."

"Not very good." He could have made do without the theft. "You're too kind for a ninja," he added, gently moving Sachiko off his lap.

"Everyone s-says that," Hinata whispered as Sasuke stood up. She had turned so he couldn't see her face, but he had a feeling the stammering wasn't entirely from nervousness.

Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his bangs in frustration. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—I'm not good at this sort of thing." He tried to think of something to say to make up for hurting her. "You're very determined, Hinata-san," he said finally. "And that's one of the most important things a shinobi needs. I'm sure a little kindness can't hurt as well." Now he was beginning to sound like Itachi.

"Th-thank you," Hinata said, turning to him again. "Maybe you c-can come back sometime...and play with the cats?"

"Maybe."

Sasuke climbed carefully out the window and headed back to where he had scaled the wall, only to find his way blocked by a tall, dark-haired man.

"So," the man said, "you are the last Uchiha that the Hokage is so excited about."

[A/N: Remember when I said this wasn't a SasuSaku? I do like that pairing though, so it will turn up in some of my future stories. The plot will recommence next chapter, BTW.]


	16. Part I, Chapter 16: Reconstruction

[A/N: Just started college! Hopefully it won't slow me down too much, but I have other things to write besides stories now.]

Chapter 16: Reconstruction

Sasuke took a step back in shock. "Y-yes I am, but who are you?"

"The head of the Hyuuga clan," the man said icily, "and had I known we were allowing a petty criminal into the village, I would not have spoken for you as favorably as I did."

"I'm not—I didn't—" Sasuke struggled to reply as he realized that everything he'd been doing so far only went to support the theory that he _was_ and _had_. "Hyuuga-san, I—" How had he _known_ all that Sasuke had said to Hinata?

The Hyuuga elder didn't wait for his reply. "Until I see some evidence that you are a worthwhile addition to the village, you are not to enter the Hyuuga clan compound again, nor speak to my daughter under any circumstances. Now get out."

Sasuke wanted to protest, but decided not to make his position any worse than it already was. Turning away, he sprinted out of the compound through the main gate.

While this was the fastest route to get away, it also meant that he ended up in a different area of the village than he had come from. Soon, he had to admit that he was quite lost. His arm was beginning to ache again, and he didn't want to risk making it worse by climbing up to one of the roofs above.

At the moment, all he knew was that he was on the opposite side of the Hyuuga compound than he had been when he first climbed over the wall. Unfortunately, by the time he realized that he didn't know where he was, he had taken so many turns that he had no way of knowing which direction to take to get home.

Considering the reaction the Sharingan had gotten him every time he had displayed it thus far, he was wary of using it to find his way back. After almost a half hour of wandering about, however, he decided to risk it.

Using the Sharingan for general direction-finding worked well enough, but since Sasuke wasn't exactly sure where he was at the moment, he found a familiar chakra to focus on and headed in that direction. From this distance, he couldn't tell who it was, but there would be plenty of time to remedy that.

At least, there should have been plenty of time. Almost at the same time that Sasuke recognized the chakra as Kakashi's, the jounin appeared in front of him.

Sasuke had never been alone with the older ninja before, and he stepped back nervously as Kakashi approached. The street they were in was in full sunlight, and there was no way for Sasuke to prevent Kakashi from seeing his face without being obvious about it. If the jounin recognized him as the spy from River country, he would surely be sent to prison. However, Kakashi not only didn't show any signs of remembering the incident (which would also have completely taken the foundations from under his previous story), but disregarded how on edge Sasuke was, as well.

"Well, here you are," Kakashi said calmly. He hadn't even put his book away. "What are you doing all the way over here?" Luckily, he didn't wait for Sasuke to say anything and continued, "All the Konoha genin are being gathered at the Academy for an important meaning." Kakashi scrutinized Sasuke with his one visible eye. "I believe it concerns you, so you may want to go back to Naruto's apartment and clean up a bit first. You should have half an hour."

With that, he vanished in a swirl of dust, leaving Sasuke no better off than before, and considerably more worried. Not only that, but he didn't know how to get to Naruto's apartment from where he was currently.

Sasuke spent almost half of his thirty minutes finding his way back to the main square, where the market had been on his first day. Once he was there, finding Naruto's apartment only took a few more minutes. Naruto was already there, prying a stubborn box of ramen from the couch. "Hey Sasuke," he greeted cheerfully. "Want—oh, forget it. Do you have any idea what this meeting's about?"

Sasuke shook his head, examining what he could see of his shirt to decide whether it could be considered presentable. It wasn't. The Forest of Death had ruined any hopes of that. There were even some nasty brown stains near the hem of the shirt that, Sasuke realized with an inward cringe, were probably remnants of Hinata's blood. No wonder the Hyuuga leader had thrown him out—Sasuke looked like something pulled out of the gutter. Frankly, he wondered why Ino had given him the flowers in the first place.

"Naruto," he asked finally, "Do you have any spare clothes?"

"Yes," Naruto replied immediately.

"That aren't orange?"

Naruto sighed. "I was afraid you'd ask that. Shikamaru might have something, you know? His house is on the way to the Academy. If we hurry, we can get there in plenty of time. Just wait till I get my ramen."

It only took Naruto a few minutes to prepare and eat the ramen, but that just left eleven minutes for Sasuke to get to Shikamaru's house, change (hopefully) and get to the Academy.

Shikamaru was lounging idly on a porch swing when they ran up. "Where's the fire?" he asked. "Did Naruto start it?"

"No fire," Naruto assured him, panting for breath. "Sasuke doesn't have any other clothes and he didn't want to wear orange, you know?"

Shikamaru hadn't bothered to keep track of where his spare clothes were kept, as it was 'too troublesome', but with the help of his mother, Sasuke was soon at least somewhat presentable. The shirt and pants he'd borrowed were clearly not his, but he was clean and his hair didn't look like a lopsided version of the back half of an aquatic bird anymore. While Sasuke liked the spikes, they did take some attention to keep them symmetrical; attention which had not had time to provide during the exams. By the time Mrs. Nara was satisfied, however, there were only two minutes to spare.

Shikamaru was already gone, leaving Sasuke and Naruto to run all the way to the academy. Naruto lead Sasuke through several 'short-cuts' that nearly ruined the new clothes he was wearing, but did get them there a little sooner.

They burst into the auditorium to find everyone staring at them. All of the other genin were already seated according to their teams, and Iruka was standing behind the front desk, looking annoyed. Anko was perched on the right side of the desk, idly twirling a kunai around one finger. "You're late, you know," she said, flicking the kunai into a ready position.

Iruka grabbed her hand before she could throw it. "Not now, please. Naruto, sit down…Sasuke, you come up here," he added, indicating a spot beside the desk.

Sasuke obeyed reluctantly; he didn't want everyone staring at him. Naruto went to sit next to Sakura, who, while still a bit pale, looked much better than she had the last time Sasuke saw her. Hinata was also there, to his surprise, although she looked too weak to have gotten there under her own power. Even though it was relatively warm out, she was wearing a heavy coat and a wool hat that hid almost all of her short dark hair. Shino and Chouji were both obviously very concerned about her.

"Iruka-sensei, what's going on?" Tenten demanded as Sasuke reached the front of the room. She was with her actual teammates again, although Kiba looked as if he very much wished to be somewhere else. "Who's he?"

"Please be patient, I'll get to that in a minute. Now," he began, "due to certain circumstances, the Hokage has come to the conclusion that the most recent group of Genin will be better off with a rearrangement of teams."

Everyone began to simultaneously express their shock, protest the decision, or shout requests for teammates. Iruka asked for silence, but no one heeded him.

They paid attention after Anko threw a spread of kunai, hitting the front row of desks. "Please continue, Iruka-sensei," she said calmly, getting out another kunai and flipping it in the air nonchalantly.

"Thank you, Anko. Now, here are the new assignments. Team 10 will now be composed of Akamichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino, and Nara Shikamaru."

"_What?_" Ino exploded. "But…but he…that's not fair!"

"So troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled.

Iruka shrugged and went on. "Team Nine: Feng Huang Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hyuuga Neji."

Lee promptly started shouting about the Power of Youthful Friendship until Tenten made him shut up.

By this point Sasuke had figured out what the point of his being here probably was, and although he wasn't sure how much he liked it, he didn't think he would really mind being on a Konoha team.

"Team Eight," Iruka continued. "Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba."

Kiba waved over at Hinata, who blushed and started staring intently at her desk.

"And finally, Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura…and Uchiha Sasuke."

…

[A/N: So sorry for the short chapter, guys! But that just means the next one will be up all the sooner, right? Yet again, please vote on that poll :) By the way, Tenten's last name is my own invention. You'll have run into it if you've read 'In Which Lee is a Girl'.]


	17. Part I, Chapter 17: Team 7

Chapter 17: Team 7

There was silence for a few shocked moments. Then, the room almost exploded as everyone reacted.

"Who?"

"No way!"

"But aren't they all dead?"

Sasuke only caught a few remarks, but gathered from them that an Uchiha being here was quite out of the ordinary. Predictably, everyone was staring at him again—Neji's gaze fiercer than the others, as if daring him to start a fight. He didn't like being the focus of those eyes, and had to force the Sharingan back as it nearly activated in reaction.

As the noise reached its peak, Anko threw her kunai, missing Tenten's hand by a bare eighth of an inch as it struck her desk. There was instantaneous silence. "Enough!" Anko shouted. "If anyone has a problem, raise your hand and we'll get to you! Anyone?" This was accompanied by a glare that made it very clear it would be very foolish for anyone to raise her hand and attract her ire. "Now," she continued, "get used to your new teammates, because we're not going to be doing this again!"

There was a chorus of 'Yes Ma'am' from various parts of the room. Sasuke glanced over at Hinata, who was by this point leaning heavily on Shino's shoulder, her eyes barely open.

"All right everyone, you can go now," Iruka said.

Sasuke promptly headed for Hinata—whatever her father had said, she looked terribly unwell and he might be able to help—but was pounced on by an elated Naruto before he could get more than a few steps.

"We're teammates now!" Naruto cheered. "Isn't it awesome! You'll love Kakashi-sensei, he's great, you know! Come on, we've got to go celebrate or something!"

As Naruto dragged him toward the door, Sakura following, Sasuke saw a young woman in a nurse's uniform come in through a back door and walk over to Hinata. It made him feel a lot better to know that she'd be taken care of.

Neji blocked their way at the door. "Uchiha," he greeted Sasuke icily.

"Yes?"

"We will soon see whose eyes can see the clearest," Neji replied with a superior smirk, before walking away with his new team.

…

"What was that all about?" Sasuke asked, as the three of them started back to Naruto's apartment. It seemed that was Team 7's unofficial meeting place. It was a bit strange not to have Shikamaru there, after being with the three of them through the entire Forest of Death. The last Sasuke had seen of him as they left, he was half-asleep over a desk as he ignored Ino shouting at him.

"You mean with Neji?" Sakura asked. She seemed to be acting more normal around Sasuke now, but he had caught her staring at him strangely a few times.

Sasuke nodded in response to her question.

Sakura frowned. "What, didn't anybody tell you? No, that's right, you…left…before that."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked again.

"You're supposed to fight Neji in the finals," Sakura replied. "They announced what all the match-ups were going to be after the preliminaries."

Sasuke did not like the idea of fighting Neji again; even if the first time hardly counted as a fight. The finals took place in less than a month now. After seeing what Neji had done to Hinata, and considering how close he'd come to losing against Lee, Sasuke didn't think that was enough time to prepare.

"I'm going to be fighting Tenten," Naruto announced. "And Shikamaru's fighting that girl from Sand. Kakashi said he'd be training us…but I guess Shikamaru won't be there now, you know?"

Sakura nodded. "It's odd having it happen so suddenly. Poor Ino, to have to deal with him now, though!"

"You mean poor Shikamaru, to have to put up with Ino," Naruto retorted. "Kakashi-sensei's going to know about this already, right?"

"I don't know about that," Sasuke said. "He came to tell me, but all he said was that there was going to be a meeting."

"Yeah…" Sakura said. "And he told me that he'd have a mission for us afterwards, and he didn't say anything about you, S-sasuke-kun. I wonder how things are going to work now…Shikamaru used to be our support fighter, but…" she glanced over at Sasuke, but quickly turned away when their eyes met.

Further conversation was interrupted as Kakashi suddenly appeared behind them, making Sasuke flinch in surprise. "Done with your meeting? Good," Kakashi said, not waiting for any kind of a reply. "Well, I'll discuss it with all of you later, but right now I need to borrow Sasuke-kun for a while."

Naruto started to say something, but Kakashi had already formed the seals for a shunshin and disappeared, Sasuke in tow.

…

As the smoke dissipated, Sasuke burst into a fit of coughing, struggling to hold back the feeling of dizziness that always came with a shunshin. He had not learned the technique himself, but he still had never gotten used to it no matter how many times Itachi transported the two of them. Once, Itachi had hypothesized that this might be because he had been exposed to it the first time at such a young age, but whatever the cause Sasuke was really tired of it.

It wasn't as bad as usual this time, and Sasuke soon recovered enough to notice where he had ended up. The room was small, but not oppressively so, and intensely well-organized; so much so that it reminded Sasuke of Itachi's habit of organizing things whenever he needed to think or didn't have anything else to do. There was a map on one side of the room, exactly centered above a couch, and two ornamental scrolls flanking a rack of weapons. The only thing in the room that wasn't obsessively 'just so' was a bookshelf crammed with thick leather tomes and brightly colored paperback volumes. There were even a few stacks of books on the top of the bookshelf. Sasuke could only read a few titles: several volumes of the infamous 'Icha Icha' series, 'Genji Monogatari' and some biographies.

"So, feeling better now?"

Sasuke started and turned to see Kakashi calmly observing at the end of a hallway. Presumably then, this was Kakashi's house; or rather, apartment, as the view from the window looked to be too high up for that from a house. Had Kakashi guessed? Sasuke rapidly scanned about for a way of escape.

The jounin either didn't notice or ignored Sasuke's tension—most likely the latter, Sasuke decided. "I must apologize for the Shunshin, I suppose," Kakashi began, seating himself on the couch and motioning for Sasuke to sit in a worn leather armchair next to the bookcase. Sasuke obeyed, although he couldn't help occasional surreptitious glances towards the door.

…

Kakashi frowned thoughtfully as he watched Sasuke glance nervously in the direction of the door. Normally, behavior like this would worry him, but apparently Sasuke had grown up 'in the wild' as it were, and he couldn't blame the boy for being a bit skittish. "It's not often someone has a reaction like that," he continued. Sasuke slowly began to relax, but Kakashi was sure that if he left him alone in the room he'd end up chasing him all over Konoha again. "Don't worry, you're not in any trouble. I just want to learn some more about you that the teams have been rearranged." He would inform Sasuke about the Hokage's other recommendation (which had actually been more of an order) later. It wasn't something he thought Sasuke would take very well. "For one thing, the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"What about it?" Sasuke asked.

"Where did you get it?" While Sasuke, from the little Kakashi had seen of him, didn't look like the type to go to extremes for power, Kakashi wasn't sure what other circumstances would result in that form of the Sharingan. If so, there was no way he would allow a risk like that near his other students.

…

Sasuke frowned as he tried to think of why Kakashi would be asking a question like that, out of the blue. He didn't think answering it would give anything away that would lead to what had happened in River Country, however. "There was…a friend…I was on a mission with," he began. "We…everything went wrong from the beginning. It was my fault—I thought he was dead…and then…" he trailed off, unable to continue as the memories overwhelmed him. Even the thought of Itachi just lying there, staring blankly at the sky as blood and water trickled down his clothes from the melting ice needles…Sasuke shook his head and forced himself back to the present.

Kakashi was staring at him, but without hostility. Apparently Sasuke had passed whatever test the jounin had been giving him just now. "So that's how it was."

Sasuke nodded, not trusting his voice. Chiding himself for showing weakness, he angrily brushed away the tears that were dangerously close to spilling over. "That's how it was."

Thankfully, Kakashi changed the subject. "Well, then, we'll have to see about your training. It's only because of the Sharingan that you've gotten this far, but against someone like Neji it might not be enough."

Sasuke thought back to the first time he was unlucky enough to be Neji's target and heartily agreed.

"You haven't had much actual training, have you?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke shook his head. Itachi was usually too busy with missions, and while he had taught Sasuke a reasonable repertoire of jutsu (for a less-than-extraordinary low-level genin, which was what Sasuke usually had to pass himself off as), he had never given him much instruction in the way of tactics. He was good at following orders, but not so much at striking off on his own.

"Obviously any physical instruction will have to wait a bit until we can get a medic to fix your arm up properly, but there's no reason not to get a head start on things. There should be a copy of Shoji's _Theories of Genjutsu_ on the bookshelf, could you bring it here?"

Sasuke froze helplessly, his gaze flickering back and forth between Kakashi and the bookcase.

"Is something…" Kakashi's visible eye widened as he realized exactly what the problem was. "You can't read, can you."

"…no." Sasuke's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he was forced to admit it. He hated to be reminded of this, even if it was because of circumstances he couldn't control.

"I see…well, that's nothing that isn't easily remedied." Kakashe strode purposefully to the bookcase and took down two small hardback volumes that looked like textbooks. "We can start with—" he was interrupted as the doorbell rang.

Sasuke nearly jumped out of his chair at the sudden sound. He hoped it was a summons for Kakashi: he didn't think he could stand the tension of being alone with the jounin for much longer. Sooner or later Kakashi would find out, Sasuke was sure, but he would much rather that it be at a place and time more in Sasuke's favor.

Kakashi calmly handed the books to Sasuke and walked to the door. Sasuke couldn't hear the conversation, but the other voice was Iruka's. Unfortunately, Iruka left after only a short time, and with him Sasuke's hopes of being needed someplace else.

When Kakashi returned, he was carrying a small, cloth-wrapped bundle, which he set down on a table in the next room. "Sasuke, come over here," he said.

Sasuke obeyed, and watched as Kakashi untied the bundle to reveal all of the meager supplied and equipment Sasuke had brought into Konoha, as well as his ruined clothes. "Is this all your stuff?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," Sasuke replied. "But why bring it here? Naruto—"

"You're going to be staying here for a while," Kakashi replied.

"What? No!" Sasuke protested in horror.

"I'm afraid you don't have any other options, kid," Kakashi said. "You're not sa—hey, get back here!" he finished abruptly as Sasuke bolted for the door.

Sasuke had had quite enough of people trying to manipulate him for the day. When Kakashi got ahead of him before he could reach the jounin's front door, he quickly formed the seals for a Katon and blew out the side wall.

Both of them froze in surprise: Sasuke had only intended for the fireball to be a distraction to allow him to get to the door. He hadn't expected it to be nearly that big. Recovering his wits before Kakashi could grab him again, he jumped the three stories down to the street, hitting the ground running.

"You owe me a new wall, Iruka!" he heard Kakashi shouting behind him.

[A/N: The author of 'Theories of Genjutsu' is actually named after my Japanese teacher. I hope she doesn't mind…Also, thanks to vanelo159 for beta reading Turning Points!]


	18. Part I, Chapter 18: Reconciled

[A/N: The last chapter and most of this one were originally one chapter, but I split it because it was getting _way_ too long. Things will start speeding up soon, I promise.]

Chapter 18: Reconciled

Even though there were no signs of pursuit, Sasuke did not slow until he was too exhausted to go on. "And of course I'm lost again," he grumbled to himself. Konoha hadn't seemed _that_ big from the outside, and he'd seen a lot of it already, so where was he now? He'd made so many turns and ducked through so many alleys that he wasn't even sure which direction he was facing—not to mention that since he didn't know where Kakashi's apartment was, knowing which direction he'd gone from there wouldn't help anyway.

He seemed to be in the outer area of the village; the wall was looming up close by. If he travelled along the wall, he could probably get to the gate he'd originally come in, after which he'd be able to find his way back to Naruto's place, but that plan came with a large risk of running into Kakashi again. From what Kakashi had said before Sasuke had run out on him, it sounded as if the powers that be had decided he was going to be staying there, and he didn't want to get Naruto into trouble.

Turning into a deserted alleyway, he sat down against the wall of one of the buildings to think for a while. He didn't think he could stand living with Kakashi, but if he was directly ordered to, there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it. He was a Konoha shinobi now, whether he liked it or not, and there was a penalty for insubordination.

Come to think of it, blasting a wall into charred debris probably counted as insubordination as well. Even if it didn't, Sasuke thought it would be best to hide out for a while until Kakashi got over it. He hadn't sounded exactly pleased, even if he'd been yelling at Iruka instead of Sasuke. And Sasuke would have to get _some_ kind of training from the jounin if he wanted to have any hope of success in the finals.

A muffled whine from nearby distracted Sasuke from his thoughts. "Is anybody there?" he asked.

The whine came again. It sounded like a small animal in trouble, and Sasuke activated his Sharingan to scan around the area. Whatever it was was underneath a large metal garbage bin further down the alley. Sasuke had to lay down on the dirty cobblestones to see under it—Shikamaru would not be pleased when he learned what his clothes had been through.

A small gray dog was huddled under the garbage bin, shivering. Sasuke wasn't sure whether the dog was hurt or stuck, but it didn't look like it would be able to get out on its own. It whined again when it noticed Sasuke, and its stubby tail began to wag hopefully.

"Hey," Sasuke said. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of there…somehow, I'm sure. Can you move?"

The dog tipped its head to one side and whined again.

"Forget it, of course you can't understand what I'm saying," Sasuke went on, getting up and walking around the garbage bin to study its weak points. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have any. It was far too heavy for him to lift or push aside, and cutting through it would be plain stupid. He tried lying down again and reaching underneath, but the dog was too far back for him to get to. "Okay," Sasuke sighed finally, "this is clearly not going to work. Just wait here—not that you have anything else to do—and I'll see if I can get anyone to help."

Unfortunately, this wasn't exactly going to be easy either. Sasuke quickly figured out that he was in a warehouse district, and there really weren't a whole lot of people around. As the dog realized how far away Sasuke was getting, it began to whine again.

"I promise I'm going to help," Sasuke called back assuringly. If worst came to worst, he could ask Kakashi.

After he had wandered several blocks to the south, the warehouses ended and he found himself standing in front of another walled compound, like the one he'd entered to visit Hinata. Unlike this one, however, the main gate stood unguarded, and there was a more casual atmosphere in general. No one tried to stop Sasuke as he headed inside, which was a relief. He was half expecting to get thrown out with a threat, as had happened with the Hyuuga.

The first thought that struck him as he entered the compound was that the whole place smelled like dogs. Not a dirty smell, just earthy and, well, doggy. The second thought was that there were a lot of dogs there, which would certainly explain the smell.

"Do you need help?"

Sasuke jumped, and instinctively brushed some of the dirt off his shirt before turning around.

"Are you lost?" the young woman he was now facing asked.

That was a harder question than it appeared to be at first. "Well…not exactly…I mean I know where I'm going _now_, I just don't know how I got there…I mean, I know how I got there, but I don't know where I started out…it's kind of complicated."

The girl frowned in confusion. Sasuke summarized. "I will be lost as soon as I'm done with this one thing." It didn't seem to help much. "Um, where is this, anyway?"

"The Inuzuka compound," the girl said. "My brother's around your age, perhaps you know him. I am Inuzuka Hana."

"Hana-san," Sasuke murmured politely. "I am Uchiha Sasuke."

He really had expected her to know, and was more than a little surprised at her shocked expression. "Uchiha…Sasuke?" she repeated blankly. "But…"

"Can I explain later?" Sasuke asked. "I need some help moving a garbage bin."

…

Once Hana understood what Sasuke needed her help for, she quickly followed him back to where the dog was. Bending down, she peeked under the garbage bin. "Oh, that's Yamato-tan," she said immediately. "He gets into all kinds of trouble, but he's never wandered out of the compound before. Don't worry, pup, we'll get you out of there!"

Soon, Sasuke and Hana had inched the garbage bin forward enough that Sasuke could reach between it and the wall to get to the puppy. Yamato promptly squirmed around in Sasuke's arms and began licking his face vigorously. Sasuke yelped and help the wriggling puppy out at arm's length until Hana relieved him. "Well, he's certainly none the worse for wear," she said. "Now, where are you off to?"

Sasuke frowned. "I think I'm supposed to be with Kakashi right now, but he's kind of mad at me after I blew up his house, and I don't want to get Naruto in trouble…"

"You blew up Kakashi's house?" Hana gasped. "Come on back with me, I _have_ to hear this."

Sasuke followed her back a bit bewilderedly. Once they were back in the compound, Hana rushed him into her house, sat him down at a table and firmly told him to 'spill'. While he started out a bit reluctantly, Hana didn't seem to hold anything against him, and he soon found himself trusting her enough to tell her almost all that had happened during the Exams thus far.

Yamato was scampering around their feet, but one of Hana's dogs hauled him back every time he made a break for the door.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Hana asked after a while. "Because I sure am."

"Uh, sure," Sasuke replied. He wasn't sure how else to respond to the forceful girl.

"Okay, let's see, I've got onigiri, meatballs…Do you like ramen?"

"No," Sasuke replied firmly.

"That's good, Kiba ate all of it. Here, have some onigiri for now, somebody else just came into the compound."

Sasuke wasn't sure how she'd known that, as he hadn't seen her get any kind of a message, but he filed it away as an eccentricity of the Inuzuka clan and started on the surprisingly good onigiri.

Hana returned after only a few moments, looking much more subdued. "It's Kakashi," she said. "He wants to talk to you."

…

Sasuke wasn't sure what to expect when the jounin entered, but he certainly hadn't expected Kakashi to look as contrite as he did. "Ah…Kakashi-san, I'm sorry—" Sasuke began nervously, but Kakashi interrupted him.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry if I frightened you," Kakashi continued, dropping into a chair across the table from where Sasuke was sitting. "Do you know who Orochimaru is?" he asked, his tone becoming deadly serious.

"I don't think so," Sasuke replied.

"He's one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha," Kakashi explained, "three of the greatest ninja ever produced by any village. However, he betrayed Konoha long ago and defected."

"But what does that have to do with me?"

"Shikamaru told me that you four were attacked by snake summons in the Forest of Death," Kakashi said. "Orochimaru possessed such a summons, and Anko recognized his chakra when she went to investigate. He was always interested in Doujutsu, so there is a high likelihood that you may be his target."

"What for?" Sasuke asked. If someone like that found out about Itachi, his brother would be in danger. Luckily, Itachi was already gone, but Sasuke would have to watch himself that he didn't give anything away.

"We're not exactly sure. In any case, nothing good. That was why the Hokage wanted you to stay in my apartment: you'd be safer there than with Naruto. And as your teacher, now, I was hoping to get to know you better. Of course, now we'll have to find somewhere else for you to stay until my wall is repaired…" Kakashi's one visible eye crinkled, and Sasuke realized to his surprise that the man was smiling. "You do seem to have made some new friends, in any case."

"Are you hinting he should stay here?" Hana asked, coming back into the room with another plate of onigiri.

"It's certainly safe," Kakashi replied with a meaningful glance at the three large dogs following Hana. "What do you think, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I suppose, but I'd still rather stay with Naruto."

"Well, we'll see what can be done once the exams are over. For now, I'll have Iruka bring your things here, and in a few days we'll start work on your training!"

The way he said 'training' had a distinctly foreboding note to it. Still, Sasuke thought he could worry about that later.

[A/N: Just so you know, guys, Itachi isn't going to be back in this fic for quite a while. However, I do have an Itachi-centric fic (Timelines) if anyone's interested. We should be getting to the finals pretty soon now, I think.]


	19. Part I, Chapter 19: Advances

[A/N: Big power outage here last night, but got electricity back in time to update! I was actually kind of worried. Anyway, hope you like it, and please vote on the poll for what story I'll start next, because that time is coming up quick!]

Chapter 19: Advances

"Okay, what about this counts as 'training'?" Sasuke demanded, risking a glance down at the ground and immediately regretting it. He could use his injured arm for balance and not a whole lot else, and at the moment, he didn't have any footholds. "If I fall off a cliff and _die_ one week after I join your team, that won't look very good on your record, will it?"

"Don't worry, you're not going to fall," Kakashi assured him from his perch atop the rock spire. He wasn't even looking up from his book. "I have no intention of doing anything that will get Iruka to yell at me for another hour like he did after you blew out my wall. Why he was yelling at me, I'm not sure. Having trouble?"

Sasuke ground out several words that Itachi would have been horrified to hear as he struggled to get his feet against the rock face.

To his own surprise, he realized that he did trust Kakashi to catch him should he truly begin to fall. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but Kakashi was his teacher now, not just another Konoha ninja to be avoided and slightly feared.

Naruto was training for the finals as well, but not with Kakashi. Sasuke had caught a few glimpses of his friend in the company of a tall, white-haired man, but hadn't had a chance to talk to him since they were no longer staying in the same apartment. Sakura had visited a few times, however; she was not going to be in the finals so she had plenty of time on her hands with both teammates and her teacher busy.

Forming a focusing seal with his free hand—it was working much better now since one of the hospital medics had seen to it, but he still couldn't put his weight on it—he gathered as much chakra as he could and pulled himself up just far enough to gain another foothold. He still had a good three meters to go before he reached the top of the spire, but he couldn't believe how far he'd come already.

"It's all about chakra control," Kakashi said calmly, turning a page.

"No kidding," Sasuke grumbled under his breath. There was nothing to pull himself up by past here; he would have to do it with chakra alone, and he didn't have a whole lot of that left after climbing this far. Shrugging as much as possible without losing his balance, he collected what chakra he could in his hands and feet and pressed on.

Finally, after what seemed like another hour, Sasuke pulled himself partially onto the flat top of the spire and hung there, panting. Kakashi was merciful enough to grab the back of Sasuke's shirt and haul him the rest of the way over.

Sasuke's entire body was fairly quivering from the effort of climbing a forty-meter cliff as he struggled into a sitting position. "Now do I get to hear what this was all about?" he gasped as he caught his breath.

"I wanted to make sure you were ready for what I'm about to show you," Kakashi replied. "Getting to read for three hours without anyone bothering me was just a bonus," he added. "Now, watch."

Activating the Sharingan, Sasuke studied Kakashi's movements closely as the jounin flashed through a series of seals.

"_Chidori._"

The air tingled with energy as chakra-laden electricity began to surround Kakashi, gathering in a sphere around his hand. Even from where he was, several feet away, Sasuke could feel the wind whipped up by the swirling mass of chakra, and the air was filled with what sounded like the sound of thousands of chirping birds.

The electric ball of chakra almost propelling him forward, Kakashi took a running leap off the rock spire, bounding across the next two and bringing his hand forward to thrust the sphere of power into a third pinnacle of rock. It exploded into a cloud of shards and splinters as Kakashi vaulted through, coming to a neat landing on another stone pillar.

"So, what do you think?" Kakashi shouted back to where Sasuke was watching.

After he had caught his breath enough to reply, Sasuke bluntly told his first impression. "You're insane."

"Now, now, what makes you say that?" Kakashi asked, vanishing from where he had been to appear behind Sasuke. "Not that a lot of people don't agree with you, but I'd like to know how you came to that conclusion."

Sasuke shook his head in bewilderment. "That…I've never…something like that, it's just—I'm not at that level!" Besides the Sharingan abilities, which he couldn't exactly help, Itachi had refused to teach Sasuke anything even remotely in comparison to this.

"And here I was worrying that I'd have to convince you that this wasn't a toy," Kakashi said. Did he sound disappointed? "You're a bit of a change from most of the Uchiha I've run into."

Sasuke wasn't sure what he was supposed to reply to that. Of course, Itachi would be able to do something like Chidori easily, but Itachi was Itachi. He could do anything. Other than that, Sasuke had never known any Uchiha during his remembrance, so he had nothing to go by. "I don't mean that I don't want to learn it," he said, "but isn't it a bit much?"

"Can't you use Mangekyou?"

"Well, yes, except that I have a tendency to pass out afterwards from chakra exhaustion. You _might_ have noticed that before."

Kakashi waved a hand dismissively. "If you can use Mangekyou and not die, this won't be too hard for you. You won't be able to do it as much as you want, but even if you do need it in the finals, once will take care of things."

Sasuke frowned doubtfully.

"Listen to me, Sasuke," Kakashi said, dropping the lackadaisical mask again as his tone became much more serious. "Neji will be an…interesting opponent. There has always been a rivalry between the Hyuuga and Uchiha: he will certainly try to defeat you. He will probably try to humiliate you. However, there is also not a small chance that he'll take his best shot at killing you. Once he bears a grudge against someone—well, you saw his preliminary match."

"Yes." Hinata was still recovering from near-fatal internal injuries. The few times Sasuke had caught sight of her and her team, she had been accompanied by more than one medic. "I see what you mean."

"Good!" Kakashi said cheerfully. "But before you can use Chidori, we'll have to work on your speed." His voice was playfully menacing, and Sasuke took a step back; not because he was afraid, but because Kakashi had a tendency to do random, unexpected things in the name of 'training'. For example, making Sasuke climb a massive rock spire with nothing but his chakra.

"How so?" Sasuke asked, getting into a ready position.

Kakashi pulled out a kunai with an exploding tag attached to the handle. Sasuke shook his head as he guessed what was coming—his sensei really was crazy. "We're going to play tag," Kakashi said.

…

Three hours later, Sasuke staggered into Hana's house and collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table. It was still a bit strange to have a house to go back to, but he was getting used to it.

"Rough day of training?" Hana asked from the kitchen. As her mother was the clan head and usually busy with other things, Hana was often left to take care of the house.

"You have _no_ idea," Sasuke moaned. "Kakashi decided I need to improve my speed, so he chased me around the village and threw exploding tags at me for three hours. He didn't get me, but I think there's a bunch of holes burned in the back of my shirt."

Hana came around to look. "You're right about that." There was a crashing sound from the kitchen and she dashed away. "Yamato-tan, get off the counter! Puppies aren't supposed to eat that!"

The incorrigible dog was soon turned out of the kitchen, and bounded up onto Sasuke's lap. Absently stroking Yamato's soft, mismatched ears, Sasuke gradually let himself relax. Being pursued all day had left him excruciatingly tense, and it felt good to know he could rest without having to run for his life—figuratively speaking, at least—a few seconds later.

Suddenly, the door banged open behind him, and Sasuke had to dive to grab Yamato as the puppy leapt down and made a dash for the great outdoors. He ended up sprawled on the floor in front of the three visitors.

"S-sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked up just in time to see Hinata blush bright pink and flee back outside.

"Hinata, please wait," Shino said as he hurried after her. "You're still hurt."

The door shut behind the two, and Sasuke picked himself up to face Kiba. They hadn't exactly gotten along well since the other boy had found out Sasuke was staying in his house. Since he was the only member of his team to advance to the finals, Kiba hadn't been there a lot of the time, which only made it even more uncomfortable when they were in the same room together.

"Forgot you'd be here," Kiba said finally, then followed his teammates out.

Sasuke sighed. Yamato, annoyed at being forgotten, whimpered and squirmed until Sasuke set him back on the floor.

"Kiba, tomorrow—" Hana stopped short as she reentered the dining room and realized that Sasuke was again the only one there. "Gone already?"

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said.

"It's not your fault," Hana said, a little too quickly: she was much easier to read than Itachi. She was annoyed, but more so at Kiba than Sasuke, it seemed. "It wasn't important, anyway. Iruka's going to be waiting for you by now, you should change and get going."

"Oh no, I forgot!" Sasuke gasped as he dashed back to the guest room he was staying in. Flinging open the closet, he pulled out a new shirt—it was _really_ nice to have more than one set of clothes—and put it on, the motions making his already strained muscles protest. "I'll be back later," he called as he ran through the dining room again and out the front door, startling the three members of Team 8 who were sitting on the porch. Hinata did not run away this time, although she flinched when Sasuke brushed past her.

To get from the Inuzuka compound to the Academy, Sasuke had to cross most of the village, and he took to the rooftops to get there faster. He could find his way around much better now, although he had gotten horribly confused the first few times he tried to go somewhere from the Inuzuka compound.

When he arrived at the Academy a few minutes later, Iruka was already standing outside the door of his office. "Ah, Sasuke-kun, there you are," he said as Sasuke dropped to the ground in front of him. "I was beginning to wonder where you were."

Sasuke smiled apologetically, running a hand through his hair to get it into some semblance of order. "I was training with Kakashi-sensei," he said, by way of explanation.

"I see," Iruka said. "Well, let's get started, shall we?"

While Kakshi had at first attempted to tutor Sasuke in reading, they had quickly decided that Iruka was much better at that sort of thing. Sasuke studied diligently, but insisted that both his teachers promise never to let anyone else know. He didn't want his friends to think he was ignorant, and he definitely didn't want someone like Shikamaru to find out. Shikamaru's perceptiveness still made him a bit nervous, even though Sasuke didn't have quite so many secrets to hide now.

"All right, we'll begin with Chapter 3, 'Chakra Basics'. That's page 38."

Sasuke quickly turned to the correct page. He had mostly gotten over his initial embarrassment, but it still stung inside a little to be stuck with a first-year textbook. The Sharingan helped with remembering the kanji, but he still had a long way to go.

"You're improving very quickly, Sasuke-kun," Iruka assured him at the end of the lesson. "At this rate, we'll probably be finished with this book by the end of the week."

And then Sasuke would only be three years behind his teammates. At least there were some areas where he didn't have to play catch-up, though.

What would Itachi think, if he saw how far Sasuke had come?


	20. Part I, Chapter 20: Imminent

[A/N: Finally started reading Harry Potter these last few days, so haven't been doing a whole lot of writing. Updates might be a little bit slower for a bit, sorry! Anyway, enjoy!]

Chapter 20: Imminent

Sasuke tossed and turned restlessly as he attempted futilely to get to sleep, wishing fervently that the Inuzuka guestroom wasn't set up so he was looking directly at the calendar on the wall whenever he got into bed. There were three more blank spaces, then the one where Hana had written 'Chuunin Exam Finals' in large red characters. Sasuke really didn't want to be reminded of that right now.

His training with Kakashi had certainly paid off. Using Chidori was exhilarating, almost addicting, with the electric rush and feeling of boundless power. It was almost too much to keep control of in an actual fight; and against someone like Neji, control would be of the utmost importance. Also, he could only manage to form two Chidori before running out of chakra, and that was on a good day. Genjutsu would still be his best bet, but the Byakugan came with a high resistance to genjutsu, and using Mangekyou along with Chidori would not be the best idea.

Finally giving up on the idea of sleep entirely, Sasuke got up and padded through the house as quietly as possible. The Inuzuka were light sleepers and he didn't want to wake them.

He had just reached the front entry and was about to pick up his shoes when he heard a familiar whine. "Ssh, Yamato-tan!" he whispered firmly as the puppy emerged from the kitchen. "Go back to sleep!"

Yamato ignored him, and trotted expectantly over to the door, sitting down to wait for Sasuke to open it. Sasuke scooped up the puppy and carried him back to his bed in the kitchen. "Now stay there!"

Yamato whimpered but obediently lay down. Heading back to the door, Sasuke pulled his shoes on and headed out—preceded by a gray blur. "Yamato-tan, get back here!" Sasuke hissed as loudly as he dared. Yamato bounded back and forth in front of Sasuke, clearly wanting to play. "All right, you can come with me," Sasuke said finally, giving up on making Yamato do what he said, "but I'm training, okay? Not playing with you."

Unfazed by Sasuke's declaration, Yamato barked cheerfully and followed Sasuke as he headed out of the compound. He couldn't go to any of the outer training grounds at this late hour, but there were plenty of places to practice inside the village walls. Sasuke's favorite, a generously sized wooded field, happened to be near the Hyuuga compound, but he hadn't let that faze him. The Hyuuga rarely trained outside their compound, anyway.

After making sure Yamato wasn't about to bound into the trajectory, Sasuke started throwing kunai and senbon at the targets to warm up, before moving on to practice taijitsu against the training posts. He was just wondering whether using Katon this late at night might be a little much when a white streak, vaguely recognizable as a cat, bolted across the field. Yamato immediately gave chase, and Sasuke ran after the dog.

Even though the Sharingan gave Sasuke remarkable clarity of vision, it didn't let him see through solid trees, so he deactivated it to look for Yamato the old-fashioned way. He caught sight of the cat a few times, but apparently it had given Yamato the slip.

The cat finally stopped in a fork in one of the trees to wash itself in a very dignified manner, before leaping down and stalking off. Unfortunately for the feline, Yamato found it again at exactly the same time. Sasuke made a dive to grab the puppy as he started to run after the cat again, while another figure burst from the bushes.

"No you don't, Ya—"

"There you are, Sachi—"

"Watch out!"

"Ouf!"

As he attempted to sort out what just had happened, Sasuke realized he was sprawled on top of something soft. "Hey, what—Hinata-san! I'm so sorry!" he said quickly, scrambling up off of her. She didn't move, and he gently shook her shoulder, noting with worry that her eyes were closed. "Are you okay?"

Opening her eyes, Hinata started to get into a sitting position. "Ah…what…S-Sasuke-kun!" she gasped, bolting to her feet and starting to run away. The sudden movement made her stagger and nearly fall again, and Sasuke quickly moved to catch her.

"What are you doing here so late at night?" Sasuke asked, gently easing her into a sitting position. Even if he'd been told not to speak to her, he wasn't about to leave her out here to faint again.

"T-training," Hinata mumbled, turning so Sasuke couldn't see her face. He wished she wouldn't do that; she was pretty, even if she didn't seem to realize it.

"Training?" Sasuke frowned, then realized that he'd seen the white cat somewhere before. "By playing hide-and-go-seek with your cat?"

"Yes, it w-works very well, and…" her voice trailed off. Suddenly, she turned to face him. "We sh-shouldn't be doing this—I need to go!"

"Hinata-san! Wait!" Surprised by Hinata's sudden flight, Sasuke had to sprint to catch up, finally managing to get ahead of her as she slowed to scoop up Sachiko. "At least tell me what I did wrong!" he said, grabbing her by the shoulders so she wouldn't run away again.

"It w-wasn't anything you did," Hinata whispered. "Otou-sama…Otou-sama told me t-to stay away from you."

"…Oh." There wasn't anything Sasuke could really say, after that. "I'm sorry," he said, letting go of Hinata.

"That's all r-right," she replied, but didn't make any move to leave. "Um, g-good luck in the finals."

"Don't worry," Sasuke said, a bit more assuredly than he felt. "I'll pay Neji back for what he did to you."

Hinata might have almost smiled. "Th-thank you. But, it wasn't all his fault…the Head Family—"

Sasuke shook his head. "Hey, I've had hard times, too, but I don't take it out on the people who should be my friends, do I?" Struck by a sudden fancy, he gently tapped her forehead with two fingers, the way Itachi did—had done—with him when he was in a playful mood. "Goodbye," he said, picking up Yamato and darting away through the trees before Hinata could react.

He paused on a rooftop after a few moments and looked back. Hinata was walking back towards the Hyuuga compound, carrying Sachiko. It didn't look as if anyone had seen the two of them, for which Sasuke was relieved. He didn't want one of his friends to get into trouble because of him.

…

The next day started out the same as most in the past few weeks had. Sasuke woke up to a rough, wet tongue scrubbing his face vigorously. "Good morning to you, too, Yamato," he said sleepily, sitting up and pushing the puppy back down to the floor. Yamato barked cheerfully, then dashed out of the room, nearly falling over himself in his exuberance.

Hana was already up; Sasuke could smell miso cooking in the kitchen, and her three dogs were wrestling playfully outside the house. "Good morning, Hana-san. Where's Kiba?" he asked as he entered the dining room. Yamato promptly bounded up with a bright red ball, which he dropped at Sasuke's feet. Sasuke bounced the ball down the hallway for Yamato to chase as he waited for Hana to reply.

"He's still asleep. He's the only member of Team 8 to enter the finals, so he's really been pushing himself. Can you go open the door to his room so Akamaru can come out? If he doesn't get let out, he tears through the paper and I don't want to have to fix that again."

Once Akamaru was let out, Yamato had competition for his game of fetch. The two dogs were about the same size, but Akamaru was older and a bit rougher. Once he had his sights on the ball, he wasn't about to let Yamato near it.

"Hey, break it up!" Sasuke said finally, grabbing Akamaru's collar and pulling him away so Yamato could get the ball. "If you can't play nice, we just—"

"Hey, leave Akamaru alone!"

Sasuke looked up to see Kiba glaring down at him. "What?"

"You heard what I said. Stay away from my dog."

"It wasn't my fault!" Sasuke protested, letting go of Akamaru's collar and getting to his feet. "Akamaru was—"

"Everything's your fault!" Kiba shouted, taking a step forward. "My own sister barely has any time for me now because she's so busy cosetting the 'poor wand'ring one'."

"I didn't mean to cause any trouble!"

"I don't see why she cares so much about _you_ anyway. Everyone—"

"Kiba!" Hana shouted, running in from the kitchen.

Kiba shoved his hands in his pockets and scuffed at the floor with his shoe. "Sorry, Hana," he said, not looking at Sasuke.

Hana sighed. "I'm sorry too. You need to get going, Kurenai's probably waiting for you by now."

Kiba shrugged sulkily and left without further comment.

"What—" Sasuke began.

"It's nothing you need to be concerned about," Hana said quietly.

"But something's wrong, isn't there? If I'm causing that much trouble here, I can leave; Kakashi's apartment has been fixed for weeks now."

Hana shook her head. "It's not you…Kiba's just upset, and you provided a trigger. You see, Kiba's fighting Gaara in the Finals."

"Gaara?" Sasuke didn't recognize the name.

"One of the Suna genin," Hana continued, "who made it successfully through the Forest of Death…by singlehandedly slaughtering two other teams."

Sasuke shuddered a little despite himself. He and Team 7 had come so close to confronting the Suna team…no wonder Kiba was acting like this.

Hana jumped back when the front door burst open, and Kiba's comments were forgotten as an orange-and-blond blur barreled into Sasuke. "Hey, hey, Sasuke! Guess what! Ero-sennin gave me a day off of training! Sakura made a picnic and she's going to meet us out at one of the training fields, you know? Come on, let's go!"

"Wait, wait wait wait," Sasuke said, dragging Naruto to a stop as the blond attempted to pull him out the door. "I have a sensei too, and he hasn't given me the day off."

"Aw, come on! Kakashi-sensei won't mind…"

"I'll take care of Kakashi," Hana said with a smile, waving him towards the door. "You go have fun with your friends."

A small voice in the back of his mind told Sasuke that Hana just wanted him out of the way so she wouldn't have to answer his questions, but he ignored it. It had been far too long since he'd had any time to spend with Naruto and Sakura. They were a team now, but they'd barely seen each other.

…

"I can't wait to start going on missions together," Sakura said, as they all lay in the grass in a satiated stupor. "That is, unless one of you makes chuunin…"

Sasuke frowned. He hadn't given much thought to what would happen if he did get promoted, even after enlisting as a Konoha genin.

Naruto crawled over so he could lean over Sakura's face. "Don't worry, Sakura, I won't let them split us up! We'll always be a team, you know?"

"Thank you, Naruto," Sakura replied, pushing his head away and sitting up. "Sasuke-kun, are you all right? You haven't hardly said anything."

Sasuke pulled himself into a half-sitting position and began plucking blades of grass distractedly. "I don't know…it's just…the Finals…"

"You'll totally beat Neji, Sasuke!" Naruto informed him blithely. Sasuke smiled a little at that. Naruto was always so sure of himself.

Winning wasn't exactly what Sasuke was worried about, but he appreciated the support of his friends anyway. "What about you and Tenten?" he asked.

"Crush her, Naruto!" Sakura shouted suddenly, punching the air. "Make her _pay!_"

"…okay?" Naruto replied nervously, leaning away from Sakura a little.

"Well, well, somebody's a little bit bloodthirsty today," another voice said from behind them. "I was wondering why I wasn't the only one late this morning."

Sasuke sighed as he got to his feet. "More training, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi swatted at Sasuke with his book, but only brushed the spikes of his hair as Sasuke ducked. "Yup! Come on, let's go."

All this obsessive training was one thing Sasuke wouldn't miss after the Finals. Still, he did not regret entering the exams; he only wished Itachi could be there to watch.

[A/N: Don't forget the poll, everybody! Thanks for reading!]


	21. Part I, Chapter 21: Waiting Game

[A/N: Aaaand the Finals…finally! I hope this is to everyone's satisfaction. Thanks to vanelo159 for betaing!]

Chapter 21: Waiting Game

The day of the Chuunin Exam Finals dawned clear and sunny, much to the joy of the shopkeepers who hoped to take advantage of the festival atmosphere.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had been praying to every deity he knew of (and this was quite a few, due to his extensive travels) that it would rain hard enough for the Finals to be postponed. As the Chuunin Exams were largely funded by ticket sales to the public fights, good weather was important.

The desired downpour had not been forthcoming. At the moment, Kakashi was dragging him toward the stadium, ignoring Sasuke's protests about habitual tardiness and Kakashi having a reputation to uphold.

"But Kakashi-sensei, I know you don't want to be late today, but surely we don't have to be early!"

Kakashi turned to look at Sasuke, frowning, then sighed and ducked around a nearby corner with Sasuke so they could talk without the whole street watching them. "Okay," he said, "I admit I haven't seen much of you since you came, but I never thought you'd shy away from something like this. What is wrong?"

Sasuke shrugged, fidgeting with one of the leather straps that had replaced his metal bracers. He didn't like the leather nearly as much, but understood how unwise it would be to wear metal while hurling electricity about. "I'm not afraid of Neji," he said, wanting to clear that up to start with.

"Then why don't you want to go?" Kakashi persisted.

"It's just—I don't think anyone there will really be watching _me_. They just want to see the 'Last Uchiha', and whether he performs up to their expectations!"

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow as Sasuke caught his breath after his outburst. "What makes you say that?"

"Well…" Sasuke unbuckled the belt and began to adjust the windings. "You know, the Hyuuga, and Kiba, and…" his voice trailed off as he realized how paranoid he was beginning to sound.

"I see," Kakashi said. "I can't say that you're entirely mistaken, but I don't think you really have quite that much to be concerned about." He glanced up at the location of the sun. "We're late as it is, so why don't we get you something to eat? They never have the big fights first off."

The market was nearly deserted, as nearly everyone was at the stadium for the beginning of the Finals. A few people looked at them oddly as they stopped at a nearby dango stand, but no one confronted them. Kakashi's habits were well known in the village.

Sasuke hadn't had dango since before he and Itachi had arrived at Suna, before the mission where he had first encountered Team 7. As he chewed on one of the sticky sweets, he wondered distractedly where Itachi was now. Someday, he would have to find him. However, Itachi was very good at covering his trail, as evidenced by how long he had kept himself and Sasuke safe. There were a few places Sasuke remembered going to, but even so, he wasn't sure how he'd get a chance to search. His best chance would probably be to make Chuunin in the exams.

"Okay then," Kakashi said finally, setting down his empty dango stick, "shall we go?"

…

"You're late, you know," the Chuunin guarding the private entrance to the stadium remarked as they approached.

"Don't tell me you're actually surprised," Kakashi retorted. The guard laughed, and let them pass.

As they made their way up the stair to the box where the other Konoha genin were waiting, they could hear the crowds cheering for the winner of the first fight. From the enclosed stairway, Sasuke could see nothing of the arena, and he wondered who had won, and who their opponent had been.

He very quickly figured it out, as both he and Kakashi were tackled by an ecstatic orange blur as soon as they opened the door. "Hey, hey, I won! I won I won I won! I am the best ninja _ever_, you know?"

They were spared having to ask what happened, as Naruto was only too glad to recount his fight with Tenten, complete with gesticulation and sound effects. Even though Tenten had lost, she hadn't gone down without exacting payment; Naruto's clothes were torn in several places, he had residual burns from exploding tags that had gone off too close, one arm was bandaged from his fingertips to above his elbow, and he had lost a few of the sharp tips of his spiked hair.

"Who's fighting now?" Kakashi asked, once he was able to get a word in edgewise.

"Shikamaru and that girl from Suna. It was supposed to be Sasuke and Neji, but they postponed that fight when you didn't show up. What's wrong, Sasuke? You should be excited, you know? I thought you wanted to pay back Neji."

Sasuke shrugged, but didn't reply. All the other Konoha genin who had advanced to the finals—Naruto, Kiba, Neji, and one of Kabuto's team, not to mention Shikamaru—were there as well, and he didn't want to appear weak in front of them. Especially Neji, who thought little enough of him as it was.

Turning away from Naruto, he went to look over the railing at the battleground below. Shikamaru was lurking in the shadowed side of the arena waiting for Temari to get within range, while Temari stayed a safe distance back and tried to drive him into the light with vicious wind attacks. At the moment, neither of them were being very successful.

"Well, this is going to drag on for hours," Kakashi remarked, coming up behind Sasuke. "At this rate, we could have gone for yakiniku or something, instead of just dango. Still, what's done's done, I suppose. I've got to go now, the jounin really aren't supposed to be here." As he turned to leave, his visible eye widened almost imperceptibly as he caught sight of something in the stands. "On second thought," he said quickly, taking Sasuke's arm and pulling him over to a less populated area of the box, "I need to tell you something."

"Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi motioned for him to keep his voice down. "Look, I'm sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden, but I need you to promise you won't use Chidori unless it's an emergency."

"What! Why—"

"Ssh. The thing is, it's kind of a top-secret A-ranked assassination jutsu, and there's some people who might not be too happy if they found out I taught it to you."

"You taught me a—"

"Er, yes." Kakashi laughed nervously. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Remember when I said you were insane?" Sasuke retorted. "I still stand by that."

"I'm sure you do. Well, good luck!"

With that, he vanished. Sasuke glanced discreetly in the direction Kakashi had been looking before he left, and saw the man who had been with the Hokage when Sasuke had first been discovered. Apparently he was a person of some significance, but Sasuke didn't even know his name. How was he supposed to find out anything about him with so little to go on? Besides that, now he had to change his battle plan against Neji.

"Hey, hey, Sasuke," Naruto said suddenly, coming up behind him, "Did Kakashi-sensei teach you anything cool? Ero-sennin taught me some super awesome stuff, you know?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I learned some things." He pulled out some kunai and a spool of ninja wire and began laying them out experimentally. Neji wasn't paying attention to him at all. "I'm not sure how much good it'll do, though."

The door to the box creaked open slowly, and everyone turned, ready for a fight.

Sakura blinked as she faced down the assortment of weapons. "Um, hi?" A small dog slipped through the door behind her and darted over to Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted. "What're you doing here?"

"I didn't have anything else to do, so I snuck down here. Besides, Hana asked me to bring Kiba a lunch since it looks like we're going to be here for a while."

"No kidding," Kiba said as he took the bento box. "They've been at it for half an hour now and neither of them has taken a proper hit."

Kiba seemed all right outwardly, but Sasuke noticed that he fumbled the lid of the bento box as he opened it, giving away his stress. Akamaru was huddled in his master's jacket; he had barely reacted at all when Sakura brought Yamato in.

"And I brought you and Sasuke some onigiri," Sakura continued, handing Naruto another bento box. "I hope there's enough, I made them all in a rush this morning and I think Chouji took a couple while I was sitting with him and Ino."

"Oh, no, this is great!" Naruto said cheerfully, grabbing one and taking a large bite. "Want one, Sasuke? They're really good, you know?"

"No, thanks," Sasuke said, still intent on the contraption he was making. Thinking about fighting Neji without Chidori wasn't helping his appetite any, either. Neji was still not deigning to look his way, and he had the same scornful attitude from the prelims with Hinata.

Sasuke didn't understand. He had never had a proper family; Neji did. What made him hate it so much?

"Ooh, he got her!" Sakura said suddenly. "Shikamaru—hey, don't! That lazy—doesn't want to hit a girl, huh?" She was shouting now, and Naruto grabbed the back of her dress so she wouldn't fall over the rail. "What about all those spars we had back when he was on Team 7?"

As Sasuke was currently sitting on the concrete floor, trying to keep Yamato from getting tangled up in all the wire he had laid out, he couldn't see what was going on. "What happened?"

"He had her!" Sakura wailed. "He had her, and then he forfeited!"

"In other words, typical Shikamaru," Naruto replied.

Sasuke nodded, fastening the last few wires to the kunai and beginning to gather the whole thing up as neatly as possible. It would all fit in his pocket, but he couldn't afford to let it get knotted up before he had a chance to use it.

"Winner, Temari! Next up: Hyuuga Neji versus Uchiha Sasuke!"

...

[A/N: We are very close to the end of Part I, and then I'm going to take a short break to get another story started (so vote on the poll, please!). I hope you like the way things are going!]


	22. Part I, Chapter 22: Duel

[A/N: I just want to say that this is the longest fight scene I've ever written.]

Chapter 22: Duel

Sasuke still didn't feel ready as he jumped down to the arena. Without Chidori, he would be put mostly on the defensive, and that wouldn't make it easy to win the fight. Hopefully his little contraption would work, instead of failing miserably as it was just as likely to.

Sakura had scooped up Yamato so he wouldn't jump after Sasuke, and was now waving down at him. "Good luck!" she shouted.

_I'm sure going to need it,_ Sasuke thought to himself as he faced Neji.

"The fight will go on until one of you concedes or is unable to continue," the chuunin serving as referee said calmly. "I will only stop the fight if one of you is in danger of dying and unable to defend himself. So, begin!"

Neji flashed forward, almost too quickly to be seen. If he hadn't had the Sharingan, Sasuke would have been out with the first strike. As it was, it barely missed as Sasuke vaulted backwards.

After the initial rush, they both paused, circling each other cautiously. Neji was a close-range fighter, and Sasuke could keep away from him, at least until he ran out of chakra to fuel the Sharingan.

Leaping upwards so that he was momentarily above Neji, Sasuke flung a spread of kunai with explosive tags at his opponent. He really wasn't expecting them to do much good, but wanted to see what Neji's defenses were like.

He had never seen anything like it. Before Sasuke's kunai could reach their target, Neji whirled around, forming a protective dome of chakra so that the explosives went off harmlessly several feet away.

From the reaction of the spectators, they hadn't been expecting that either. Sasuke landed just as Neji released the swirling chakra sphere, lashing out at Sasuke almost before he hit the ground.

Vaulting backwards, Sasuke dodged the first strike, but was unable to avoid the second and third, which caught him solidly in the ribs. He gasped as something cracked, and an icy sensation spread through his chest.

Strangely enough, Neji did not pursue his advantage, instead hanging back as if expecting something of Sasuke. "Well?" he said finally, his strange eyes burning into Sasuke's.

"Well, what?" Sasuke gasped, and coughed. Blood spattered on the ground at his feet. _This must be what he did to Hinata_, he realized. He couldn't afford to take any more hits like that.

"You cannot win this fight."

"…oh?"

"The Uchiha have always been inferior to the Hyuuga. You cannot win; it is fated."

"Fated, huh?" Sasuke's breathing hitched again, and he spat blood onto the ground. "Everything's 'fated' with you. Who's to say you can't change it?"

Neji's eyes narrowed, and his knuckles were white as he clenched his fists. At first Sasuke thought he was going to attack instead of replying. "If you truly want to know," Neji said finally, closing his eyes briefly and reaching back to untie his headband, "I will show you."

As Neji slowly pulled his headband away and opened his icy eyes again, Sasuke found himself staring at the manji mark etched into the other boy's forehead. "What…?"

"The Curse Seal of the Hyuuga clan," Neji said. His voice was deliberately calm, but his hands were trembling just slightly, belying his anger. "The fate of those who were not lucky enough to be born into the Head family of the clan." He tied the headband back on and took a step forward. "My father was twin brother to the head of the clan, but because he was born ten minutes later, he was relegated into the branch family, as was my mother when he married her, and I. Then when the head of the clan killed a ninja from another village, his life was demanded in payment—my father's body was sent instead. Such is the fate of the branch family, and it cannot be changed! And you, Uchiha, are fated to lose this fight. Please forfeit. I have no wish to injure you further."

Sasuke glared at him, struggling to catch his breath. "Well, that's too bad, because I sure want to injure you! Who care whether those are the rules of your clan or whatever, that's no excuse to live hating everyone because you can't do anything about it! So what if you can't beat fate? It doesn't matter if you don't even try, and that's what I intend to do!"

Neji jumped back as Sasuke leaped into the air and released his 'secret weapon'. Aided by the Sharingan, the six kunai landed exactly around Neji, the wires connecting them almost invisible. Sasuke whipped out another spread of kunai and landed behind Neji, who turned to face him.

"So this is what you were being so industrious about earlier," Neji said scornfully, taking a step forward to yank one of the kunai out of the ground. "What's it supposed to—"

As he reached for the kunai, the motion set off the exploding tags Sasuke had wired together with chakra triggers. Neji immediately formed his defensive sphere, but failed to take into account that the radius of the wire ring was smaller than that of the chakra dome.

Sasuke backed up and watched as the entire dome filled with smoke. That had to have accomplished _something_, but the huge amount of swirling chakra prevented him seeing what was going on with the Sharingan. As the chakra dissolved, allowing the smoke it contained to begin to dissipate, Sasuke sprang forward and flung a spread of shuriken into the center of the ring.

Neji wasn't there.

Sasuke only had just enough time to realize this before a burning pain stabbed through his spine. Struggling to keep upright—he could barely feel his legs now—he turned to face Neji. "How did you…?"

Neji smirked scornfully. His gray tunic was in shreds, and he had a few burns, but that was nothing compared to the condition Sasuke was in. "A clever trick, but nothing against the Byakugan." He drew his hand back for another strike. Sasuke knew he wouldn't have a chance to dodge this one, and did the only thing he could do.

Using Kawarimi didn't leave Sasuke as disoriented as shunshin did, but it still took him a split second he couldn't afford to spare to get his bearings. Neji, having taken no time at all to figure out the trick, was dashing towards him again. Before he could get close enough to land another blow, Sasuke jumped further backwards, using chakra to cling to the arena wall, just out of Neji's reach.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei," he murmured, forming the necessary handseals. Besides causing what felt like internal injuries, Neji had done something to block off Sasuke's chakra. He only had enough left for one shot at Chidori, so he would have to make it pay off.

Neji hung back as Sasuke began to prepare Chidori—although shinobi were vulnerable while performing handseals, attacking them while they were doing so tended to create explosive releases of chakra which could damage an opponent just as much as a jutsu. As the ball of electricity Sasuke was holding reached its full size, Neji fell further back, preparing to create his chakra dome again.

Sasuke pushed off the wall as Neji began to spin. With the Chidori's power propelling him forward, he felt as if he were flying. The crackling of the electricity prevented him from hearing anything from the stands as he ran towards where Neji was. All the chakra surrounding Neji made the air tingle even more, and Sasuke closed his eyes briefly as he brought his hand forward to plunge through the barrier.

The chakra wall blasted apart, and Sasuke opened his eyes to see Neji right in front of him—there was no way Neji would be able to duck in time, and Sasuke couldn't _kill_ him!

Although he was being pushed by the full force of Chidori, Sasuke managed to stop before his fist would have plunged through Neji's chest, but it still hit him squarely in the shoulder.

Neji gasped in pain as the electricity coursed through his body. After a few seconds, Sasuke was able to break the contact, and Neji crumpled to the ground, spasming uncontrollably. His eyes were unnaturally wide, and Sasuke worried that he was going into shock.

Taking a step back, Sasuke realized that he wasn't much better off as he nearly collapsed. He had almost completely exhausted his chakra, and whatever Neji had done to his spine was affecting his balance. Struggling to keep his footing—he had to stay standing until they announced the results or he would be disqualified—he caught his breath as the chuunin referee ran over.

The man quickly took in the scene: Neji lying on the ground and clearly unable to rise, and Sasuke still standing, if just barely. "Winner: Uchiha Sasuke! Medics, down here please!"

Kakashi shunshined into the arena as the medical team entered. "Sasuke-kun, are you all right?" he asked, quickly putting an arm around Sasuke's waist before he could fall.

"I dunno, I feel kind of cold…" Sasuke replied woozily. He was having trouble focusing on anything, and it was making him dizzy. "'m sorry I used Chidori, sensei, but…there wasn't anything else left…"

"You did what was necessary," Kakashi replied. "We'll worry about that later. Come on, I think we'd better get you to the hospital too. Iruka's going to be after my blood for making you exhaust all your chakra."

Everything started going black as Kakashi picked him up. The last thing he heard was the announcer calling for the next fight.

…

"Hey, hey, Sasuke's awake!"

"Hello, Sasuke-kun. Are you feeling better?"

Sasuke sat up slowly, looking around the little hospital room before his gaze lit on his two friends, sitting by the bedside. "Naruto…Sakura…shouldn't you be back at the arena?"

"We snuck out between fights," Sakura said. "The nurse would only let us in for a few minutes, anyway. I, um, thought your match was excellent, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto concurred. "You'll make chuunin for sure! And then, when I become Hokage, I'll make you my top ninja, you know!"

"Mmm," Sasuke assented. Naruto's hyperactivity was a little much for him to follow in his current state.

Sakura apparently noticed this. "Come on, Naruto, we should go before the nurse throws us out. Besides, you don't want to miss the last fight. Rest up, Sasuke-kun!" She smiled, ushering Naruto out ahead of her.

"Wait a moment, Sakura," Sasuke said before she could close the door. "Whose fight is next?"

"Kiba and Gaara. Why?"

"Nothing…just, wish Kiba good luck from me, all right?"

Sakura nodded, although she looked rather puzzled, then closed the door. Sasuke sighed as he lay back down on the bed. He wasn't sure what Kiba's reaction would be, but maybe he could make things a little better between them.

Drowsiness began to overcome him again, and he sank into a dreamless sleep.


	23. Part I, Chapter 23: Separate Ways

[A/N: The poll is now closed, because I have officially begun Snow on the Desert! I should be posting the first chapter after Part I of Turning Points ends. That doesn't mean I'll be leaving Turning Points, I just want a little break to sort some things out that weren't in there when I started it. Hope you like this chapter!]

Chapter 23: Separate Ways

Itachi dropped lightly onto the tiled roof of the hospital, wincing as the mark on his wrist burned sharply, warningly. He knew this was foolish; he had promised himself that he would stay away from Sasuke now, for the child's own safety, but he had been unable to resist watching the duel with Hyuuga Neji. And then, when Sasuke had been carried unconscious to the hospital, he had to reassure himself of Sasuke's welfare, even if it let Orochimaru find him again.

_One last time,_ he told himself firmly as he began to climb down the wall towards where Sasuke's room was. _This is the last time._ Orochimaru had promised that Sasuke had no place in his current plans, but Itachi knew he could not be trusted. After this visit, he could never see Sasuke again until the snake Sannin was dead. And with the seal on his wrist affecting him as it was, he wasn't sure that would be soon. Orochimaru knew him too well, and could use Sasuke as bait to force Itachi to work for him. If he had the Mangekyou, as Sasuke did, things might have been different, but any chances of that were gone with the death of the rest of the clan—Itachi could never use Sasuke for such a purpose.

Sasuke was in the almost comatose sleep brought on by chakra exhaustion, and didn't even stir as Itachi opened the window. A heart monitor was flashing steadily on the table beside the bed.

Soundlessly slipping into the room, Itachi glided over to the foot of the bed to read the notes on the clipboard there. Nothing but chakra exhaustion, it said, but exacerbated by Jyuuken strikes to the chest and spine.

Itachi frowned. It was a lucky thing that Kakashi had taught Chidori to Sasuke—still, there were certain factions who would be none too pleased with this development.

Leaving his parting gift on the bedside table, Itachi stroked his brother's hair one last time before turning to go. The warning pain in his wrist stabbed up his arm, even worse than before, and he froze as Orochimaru materialized in front of him.

"My, my…fancy meeting you here, Itachi-kun."

"What do you want?" Itachi demanded, taking up a defensive stance in front of the bed.

"What makes you think I want anything?" Orochimaru retorted, with affected innocence. "I only wished to make sure you both were…safe."

"I will _never_ let you have my brother, whatever happens!" Itachi snarled.

"So confident, aren't we, Itachi-kun," Orochimaru laughed. Itachi had never hated anything more than that mirthless, venomous laugh. "But perhaps I don't want him, after all."

Itachi struggled not to recoil as Orochimaru bent closer, so that their faces were only a few inches apart. "You know I will never serve you," Itachi said. It sounded like much less of an ultimatum than he had intended.

"Maybe, maybe not. Still there's plenty of time, and I'm perfectly willing to wait. Ah, well, the fun's about to begin, and I can't be late. I will see you…very soon, Itachi-kun."

With that, the snake Sannin vanished. Itachi shuddered despite himself; it seemed that the room had gotten ten times colder in only the short time Orochimaru had been there.

Orochimaru was after him, that he knew. It was only when he and Sasuke were together that Orochimaru could use them against each other. Unless Itachi let himself be drawn back to Konoha, Sasuke would be in no danger, from that sector at least.

"Goodbye, Otouto," he whispered, before leaping through the window.

He didn't care where he ended up, as long as it was far away from Orochimaru and farther away from Sasuke, if possible. He had sacrificed too much to keep his brother safe, he could not let anything happen to him now…even if he died without ever seeing Sasuke again.

Itachi was miles away from Konoha before the explosions started.

…

Sasuke jolted awake as a massive explosion rocked the building. "What—?"

Glancing out the window, he saw a column of smoke arising from the direction of the Chuunin Exam arena. He also saw that the window was open.

As he gingerly got out of bed to try to figure out what was going on, he noticed a familiar object on the bedside table. "Risu-tan! How did you get here?" His fingers brushed a note as he picked up the toy, and he read it slowly. "…With love, farewell…Nii-san!"

Turning on the Sharingan—if he could find Itachi he didn't care about depleting his chakra again—he scanned the room and the area outside the window. Itachi's chakra was all around, but the trail wasn't going to last much longer. There were also remnants of a strange dark chakra, like the one Sasuke had sensed from Itachi before he left.

Snatching up his weapons, which had been neatly stored on a rack near the door, he was preparing to leap out the window and follow his brother's trail when another explosion came from the arena. From his vantage point, he could just see what he assumed was Gaara vault over the arena wall, propelled by a wave of sand. Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru were in hot pursuit, even though they had to fight off other Sand and even Sound shinobi in order to give chase.

Sasuke hesitated. There had been something wrong with Itachi, the last time they had spoken before he left. Sasuke knew that Itachi would never have struck him under normal circumstances.

He would give almost anything to see Itachi again, to know that he was all right.

However, his friends were in much more certain and immediate danger.

And somehow, he had the feeling Itachi didn't want to be found right now.

"Please forgive me, Nii-san," he whispered to empty air, before leaping out the window to follow his teammates. "I'll find you someday…but not today."

…

The trail was not hard to pick up; Gaara's sand attacks stripped the bark from the trees, blazing a clear pathway for Sasuke to follow. From time to time he also found spatters of blood, which was more worrying. Hana had said that Gaara was completely ruthless, as well as undefeated. Images of his friends lying dead, torn by sand, flashed before his eyes, and he forced them back.

After a few minutes, he took to the trees to go faster. With the few hours of rest he had gotten, his chakra had recovered enough to allow him to stick to the trees, although things would get rather difficult if he had to use Chidori again. He probably could, if there were no other options, but he would be in even worse shape afterwards.

If the Sharingan hadn't detected the movement just ahead of him, he probably would have run right into the blond-haired kunoichi who suddenly appeared. Stopping on a branch facing her—jolting his injured back in the process—he pulled out a spread of kunai.

"Temari," he said calmly as he recognized her. "Get out of my way."

"Sorry, kiddo," she replied, smirking, "no can do. Why don't you run along home? I hate beating on little kids, and you look awful already."

"Where are my friends?" Sasuke demanded.

Temari shrugged carelessly. "Don't know, don't care. Gaara's probably already—whoa!"

Infuriated by her flippancy and caring little for the consequences, Sasuke launched himself at her, flinging the kunai he was holding squarely at her heart. A gust of wind from Temari's giant fan caught both them and him, hurling him back against the tree he had jumped from. Struggling against the pain that flashed up his injured spine, he pulled himself to his feet again.

"Where are my friends?" he growled again, through gritted teeth.

"Look, kid," Temari replied with a scornful smile, "I guess this show of determination is supposed to be impressive or something, but really it's just kind of—ack!"

Sasuke frowned in puzzlement as Temari's body suddenly jerked and she nearly fell off the branch.

"So," she said in a completely different tone and attitude, "That nearly didn't end very well, did it? That would be embarrassing, if I did my super mind-swap jutsu just to go splat in the middle of a forest, huh?"

Sasuke remembered something like this happening once before, in the Forest of Death. "Ino?"

"Yup, it's me! I was going to go bail out Shikamaru, since he's on my team and all now, but you looked like you needed a little help."

"I'm fine," Sasuke insisted.

"Uh-huh," Ino-Temari said, sounding completely unconvinced. "Well, I won't stop you. That sparky-explody-boom thing would probably help against Gaara, anyway. He uses sand as armor, and none of us have were able to get through it before he skipped out. They went thataway, just so you know," she continued, pointing. "Get going, I'm going to drop this in a second and then she'll be after you. I'll hold her here as long as I can, though. I owe her for the prelims."

Sasuke nodded, and darted off through the trees, hoping the delay had not put his friends in more danger. A few seconds later, a series of explosions behind him let him know that Ino and Temari had both returned to their original bodies, and had not gained any mutual understanding through the experience.

Suddenly, the trees fell away to reveal…a desert? For at least a square mile, all trees and vegetation had been stripped away, leaving nothing but a layer of sand on the ground. Sasuke could see the old Team 7 in the center, battling a red-haired boy who was half transformed into some kind of massive sand monster.

Sakura was lying unconscious on the ground, but from the looks of it she had put up quite a fight. At the moment, Shikamaru was trying, largely without success, to hold Gaara in check with the Shadow Bind while Naruto dogpiled him with his clones.

Vaulting down from the tree, Sasuke sprinted towards his friends. They were his team, and he would never abandon them, whatever happened.


	24. Part I, Chapter 24: Stand Your Ground

[A/N: Some stuff in here references a one-shot I have yet to write. Sorry…hopefully it won't be too confusing. I'll get that oneshot done soon, I hope.]

Chapter 24: Stand Your Ground

"Sasuke, don't be stupid!" Naruto shouted as Sasuke ran up to the group. "You shouldn't be here!"

"Don't tell me to leave, Naruto, you know you need help!" Sasuke shouted back, ducking as a sharp, blade-like tendril of sand whipped toward him. "What's wrong with Sakura?"

"I don't know, the puppet jerk poisoned her or something!"

Sasuke darted under a few more tendrils of sand to get to Sakura. Kneeling by her side, he experimentally pushed some healing chakra into her body, to see if he could neutralize the poison. He had a feeling that in this fight, the more of them were standing, the better. Even if they weren't all at peak condition, making an enemy split his attention over four instead of two would raise their chances considerably.

Sakura opened her eyes, coughing a little as she pulled herself into a sitting position. "What ha—Sasuke-kun! You idiot!" she shouted, grabbing the front of Sasuke's shirt and pulling so their faces were mere inches apart. "Why didn't you stay in the hospital where you were safe? What are you trying to do, get yourself killed?" She broke off in a fit of coughing, giving Sasuke a chance to reply.

"No, I'm _trying_ to help you, now will you hold still so the poison doesn't spread any further?"

"Oh." Sakura had the grace to look abashed. "Um, sorry about that."

"That's okay," Sasuke said, already back to the task at hand. He didn't have much experience with toxins, but whatever Sakura had been dosed with—it seemed to be an internal paralytic agent, freezing the lungs and heart if enough was used—hadn't been in her system very long, which meant that it wouldn't be too difficult to remove.

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped suddenly. Sasuke turned around to look; he couldn't see any of the fight while he was trying to heal Sakura.

Naruto's clones had all been erased by a swipe of the sand encasing Gaara. Naruto himself had been thrown high into the air, slamming into the ground with stunning force some distance away. As Gaara turned to pursue the blond, Sasuke caught his first good look at the Suna genin's face.

Scattered images fell through Sasuke's mind, of childhood and sandcastles and for once having someone to play with. It must have been five years ago…and that amount of time had clearly been enough to change the other boy entirely. Or perhaps not entirely, Sasuke corrected himself, remembering Gaara's actions when Sasuke and Itachi had been attacked that night.

He didn't want to fight the first friend he'd ever had, but Gaara's sand was beginning to snake around Shikamaru's body and Sasuke knew that by this point it was too late for reasoning. Snatching out a tagged kunai, he flung it at the rope of sand Gaara was using to control the sand smothering Shikamaru.

The subsequent explosion released Shikamaru, but also caused Gaara's attention to shift to Sasuke. As a wave of sand swept toward him Sasuke jumped back, grabbing Sakura, who was still not able to move fast enough, and running with her out of the way. "Do you think you can walk?" he said quickly.

"Probably?" Sakura replied.

"Okay, then get Naruto and Shikamaru and get out of here. I'll take him; once you get back to Konoha, send help if you can."

Sakura frowned. "I don't think that's a very good idea…"

"We don't have time for any others, all right? Just go before he starts attacking again."

Sakura nodded, although she still looked like she wanted to protest. Gaara hadn't made a move yet; was he waiting for an attack?

Sasuke waited until Sakura had helped Shikamaru out of the way and headed toward Naruto before forming the seals. "_Chidori._"

It was much harder to control this time, as Sasuke barely had enough chakra to form it after treating Sakura. It was all he could do to form it and then keep it headed in a straight line towards Gaara.

The crackling ball of electricity slammed solidly into Gaara's sand-coated shoulder, shattering the hard shell and dispersing the softer core inside. Before Sasuke could pull his hand away, the shattered sand flashed out to wrap around his arm. Sasuke gasped, wincing in pain as he was pulled off the ground, sharp grains of sand digging into his arm. If he couldn't get away within a few seconds, his arm was going to be shattered, if not worse.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as a tendril of ninja wire whipped through the air to tighten around the sand holding Sasuke, just past where his fingertips were trapped. Sakura was holding the other end, a determined light in her eyes.

"Sakura, get out of here!" Sasuke shouted. "You can't—"

"Shut up!" Sakura yelled back. "Don't you treat me like I'm pathetic just because I didn't make the finals, all right? Now be quiet and let me rescue you!"

Gaara's sand swept towards Sakura as she channeled her chakra down the wire, but too late. The flash of heat and power weakened the sand's grip on Sasuke enough that he could free himself.

Sakura landed beside him as he jumped away. "Shikamaru went back to the village to find help," she reported. "Naruto's—"

"_Kuchiyose no jutsu!_"

"—right over there," Sakura finished as the huge cloud of smoke between them and cleared to reveal Naruto standing atop the biggest toad Sasuke had ever seen in his life. Sasuke could only stare in bewilderment. How did Naruto do what he did? After the fight he'd just had, he should barely be standing, let alone releasing enough chakra to power a small town! For all the help they needed, Sasuke could have gone to find Itachi. Well, maybe not, but still, he wasn't much compared to this.

"No worries, everybody! Konoha's Number One Ninja has entered the fray!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Naruto…" she murmured indulgently.

"Number Two Ninja?" Naruto enquired, turning to look down at her.

"No, not yet, I don't think."

"Number Eleven?"

"Just fight Gaara already!"

Sasuka and Sakura ran out of the way as Naruto's toad sprang into action in pursuit of Gaara. It flattened a good quarter-acre every time it landed; it was a good thing they were headed away from the village. "Well, now what?" Sasuke asked, rubbing his sore arm and noting sadly that one of the brand new leather guards Kakashi had given him was ruined. "Naruto seems to have matters well in hand." Now that the urgency of saving his friends had passed, he was beginning to feel the exhaustion of his fight earlier.

"You should go back to the hospital, first off," Sakura said calmly. "And then—"

Sakura never got to finish her sentence as Sasuke pushed her to the ground, just before a volley of wind-borne kunai swept through above them at chest-height. "You again," Sasuke said, turning to face Temari. She wasn't alone this time.

"Yes, it's us," Temari smirked. "You didn't think your cute little girlfriend would really slow me down, did you? Please, I'd already crushed her once. I'll get the girl this time, Kankurou," she continued to her companion, "You take the brat with the fancy eyes."

Kankurou nodded, but didn't move towards Sasuke. Confused, Sasuke pulled out a kunai and began to circle the older boy, only to fling himself down barely in time as a puppet appeared and fired a volley of senbon at him. They gleamed oddly, probably poisoned, and he avoided stepping on any of them as he moved back.

Meanwhile, Sakura had whipped her length of ninja wire around Temari's fan to keep it from opening. This saved her from any wind attacks, but forced her into close quarters as Temari whipped her fan around, slamming Sakura painfully into the ground. Sakura still didn't let go of the wire, even as it tore into her hands.

Sasuke flung his kunai at Kankurou's head, but it was blocked by another puppet. He wished Shikamaru would hurry up; his Shadow Bind would come in handy here. Sasuke's chakra was almost gone; if he couldn't end this soon both he and probably Sakura would be done for. This hadn't been the most intelligent decision of his life, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

As Temari swung her fan again, Sakura lost her grip on the wire and was thrown against Sasuke, bringing them both to the ground. Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, pushing her behind him as the Sand genin approached, but they were out of weapons with nowhere to turn.

"Any more brilliant ideas?" Sakura whispered.

"Yes. I'll hold them here, you run."

He wasn't exactly sure what he would do to 'hold them here', but none of them had a chance to find out. Before Temari and Kankurou could strike a final blow, a chilling howl echoed from the direction Gaara and Naruto had gone.

Kankurou paled under his face paint. Temari turned white. "Gaara," she said, her voice trembling a little. "Come on, let's get out of here while we still can."

"But what about them?" Kankurou protested.

Temari smirked, although it was a lot less confident now. "We don't even have to do anything to be rid of them now. Bye, kids!"


	25. Part I, Chapter 25: Fleeting

[A/N: Wow, dialogue heavy chapter ahoy! I guess this is the start of a new sub-arc here.]

Chapter 25: Fleeting

Sasuke and Sakura watched in confusion and some apprehension as Kankurou and Temari bounded away.

"Um, d'you think we should go and see if Naruto needs help?" Sakura asked.

"Well, he probably does," Sasuke replied, "But we aren't exactly in any condition to give it right now."

"Good point," Sakura conceded. She had scrapes and cuts all along the right side of her body where Temari had dragged her across the sand, as well as deep gashes in both hands. Sasuke wasn't as visibly injured, but with all his chakra gone—again—he was beginning to feel dizzy, and black stars were flashing across his vision.

He only just heard Sakura gasp before everything else went black, too.

…

"Oh, good, he's finally waking up!"

"Hmph. So the great Uchiha actually needed some help for once."

"Kiba!"

"Ow! Hey, I'm hurt too!"

"Hana?" Sasuke whispered as he opened his eyes. He was back in the Inuzuka house guest room—the Chuunin Exams had been crossed off the calendar on the wall; he must have been out all night. As he pulled himself with some difficulty into a sitting position, Yamato bounded into the room and curled up against his side.

Hana was kneeling by him. Kiba was standing near the open door, looking sulky. Half his face and one arm were completely swathed in bandages; courtesy of Gaara, Sasuke assumed.

"Where's everyone else?" Sasuke asked.

"You mean Sakura and Naruto? They're both in the hospital right now, I think, although they'll probably be released soon to make more room. Shikamaru and his new team brought the three of you back to Konoha."

"But what happened?" Sasuke asked. "I mean, I felt the explosions from the hospital, and then I went after the others, but I didn't get a chance to see what was going on."

"Konoha is under attack," Hana explained. "The Sand and Sound ninja turned on us during the Final Exams. Gaara was their 'secret weapon', we think, but he lost control during the fight—" her gaze flickered toward Kiba, who did not look pleased with the way the conversation had gone but didn't say anything "—and left with the rest of his team. Right now, Konoha seems to be winning. Our compound is far enough away from the arena that none of the fighting has come near it, but most of the clan shinobi are in the battle right now. Frankly, I would go as well, but I have to stay with you and Kiba. They thought you would be safer here than in the hospital."

Outside, a dog began barking loudly, and Hana stood. "I need to go see to that," she said. "Kiba, you stay in here while I'm gone."

"But—"

Hana either didn't hear Kiba's protest or (more likely) ignored it as she hurried out, her quick footsteps rustling over the tatami floor.

There was an uncomfortable silence before Sasuke finally spoke. "I'm sorry that you were hurt," he said, actually a little surprised at how sincere he felt.

Kiba shrugged, sitting down against the wall facing Sasuke. "Hana says I'll probably get a win by default, so it's a fair trade…I guess. Hey," he added, "what was up with you wishing me luck, huh? Were you trying to jinx me or something? Because if you were, it definitely worked," he said, absently running his fingers over the bandages that covered his face.

"No, of course not!" Sasuke protested. "I was just…" he sighed. "Why can't we be friends?"

Kiba started to say something, then paused. "You just…why did you have to come _here_?" he said finally. "I mean, so maybe it isn't your fault, but Hana…anyway, she… And then, everyone says, about the Uchiha…" his voice trailed off. "Um, but I guess you wouldn't want to hear that."

"Probably not," Sasuke agreed, rubbing behind Yamato's ears. "…Where's Akamaru?" he asked after a little while, noticing that Kiba's own canine shadow was missing.

"In Hana's veterinary building. He hurt his leg so she has him shut up right now, otherwise he'd be running all over the place and making it worse."

"Oh." Sasuke couldn't think of anything to say after that. Apparently, neither could Kiba, and they sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting for Hana to return. Yamato whimpered and pushed against Sasuke's hand, and Sasuke obligingly began to pet him again, feeling a bit guilty as he glanced over at Kiba.

"So…" Kiba said after a while, "this is kind of stupid, isn't it. How about we just start over?"

He didn't exactly smile, but his eyes weren't as resentful as before, and Sasuke smiled, albeit still a little wary. "That sounds good to me."

The door slid open, and both boys jumped as Hana walked in. Sasuke had a strong hunch that she had been eavesdropping, but if so, she didn't give anything away. "Well, that's all taken care of," she said. "Iruka's bringing a few new additions to the party."

"Hey, hey, Sasuke!" a blond blur shouted as it flew into the room, "Are you feeling better? I'm sorry I yelled at you but it was totally awesome that you broke out of the hospital, you know? And and oh hi Kiba I beat up Gaara for you and—"

"I think that's enough, Naruto," Iruka interrupted, pausing in the door with Sakura. "Little as you may feel like it, you _are_ here to rest."

Iruka helped Sakura into the room as Hana got another futon out of the closet and spread it next to Sasuke's. "How is it outside?" she asked.

"Most of the fighting is over," Iruka reported. "After Gaara fled the Suna shinobi were easy pickings. But—" his voice broke off and Sasuke realized with shock that Iruka was crying.

"Oh no, what happened?" Hana gasped.

"The Hokage—the Hokage is dead."

Naruto froze, his bright blue eyes wide with horror. "O-old Man Hokage?" he whispered. "No! There's no way, he can't be dead, he can't!"

Hana grabbed him as he lunged for Iruka. "Naruto, calm down!"

"He can't be dead, you're lying, stop it!" Naruto shouted, pushing her away and sinking to his knees.

"Naruto-kun…" Sakura whispered, sniffling as tears began to trickle down her face.

Sasuke didn't know what to say—seeing his usually cheerful friend suddenly break down like this was very disconcerting. Sasuke himself had barely seen anything of the Hokage; only at the Chuunin exams, and then during the meeting in which he was not-quite-willingly enrolled as a Konoha shinobi. Therefore, he didn't exactly associate good things with the Hokage, but he had seemed kind enough—as kind as the leader of a village of hired warriors and assassins could be, anyway.

Hana finally convinced Naruto to lie down, then left with Kiba. Iruka lingered a few moments longer; he didn't say anything but all of them found his presence comforting.

After Iruka left, none of them said anything. Naruto and Sakura were too broken up over the news, and Sasuke couldn't think of anything to say to comfort them. He wasn't really good at that sort of thing; he'd never really had to be. Itachi had always been the one comforting him, not the other way around. Having other people he cared about really took some getting used to, he decided before he fell asleep.

…

When he awoke, the compound was bursting with noise and activity. For that matter, so was the whole city, he realized as he heard bells ringing and firecrackers going off in the distance.

Curious, Sasuke got to his feet as quietly as he could, so as not to wake Naruto or Sakura, and tiptoed out of the bedroom. He nearly tripped over Yamato as he stepped into the hall; the little dog barked cheerfully, despite Sasuke's attempt to quiet him, and ran ahead as Sasuke walked outside.

The first thing he saw as he slid the front door open was a massive bonfire in the main square. Dozens of Inuzuka shinobi, as well as assorted others, were scattered around it, talking and laughing. Many of them sported bandages, and Sasuke concluded that these were the ninja who had been out fighting before. He spotted Hana and her mother to one side and headed in that direction.

"Oh, Sasuke!" Tsume shouted as she noticed him. "War's over! Come join us!"

On the way over, Sasuke somehow found himself holding an unlit sparkler in one hand and a stick of dango in the other. Suddenly reminded of how hungry he was, he bolted down the dango before he got to where Hana and Tsume were.

"Hello, Sasuke," Hana said. "You'll always find parties like this after such a large battle," she explained, seeing his confused expression. "Since we're fighting all the time, sometimes we just want to let off a little steam, to take our minds off it."

Kiba ran up a few seconds later. He had Akamaru zipped up in his jacket again and looked much more himself with his 'other half' back. One of Akamaru's paws was bandages where it peeked out over the collar of the jacket, but otherwise the puppy looked like he had gotten off lightly. "Sasuke," Kiba said with a casual nod. "Come quick, Hayate and Yuugao brought a _ton_ of anpan but it's all going to be gone if we don't hurry!"

"Bring us some!" Hana shouted as the two boys dashed off.

...

The sun was setting over the village walls, but with the bonfire no one noticed the cold. There was all sorts of food to be had, and Sasuke was soon too stuffed to move.

Kiba had run off to play with some of his cousins, so Sasuke sat down on the porch and lit the sparkler. The light flickered cheerfully as Sasuke stared at it. It would come and go so quickly; and it seemed to him that ninja were the same, in a way. One moment of lost focus was all it took…

Sasuke sighed as the sparkler went out. He had already lost his family and his brother—he couldn't afford to lose anyone else, or he could very well lose himself as well.

...

[A/N: Sorry about the long wait between updates! I got a bit stuck on the last couple chapters. Also, thanks to vanelo159 for betaing!]


	26. Part I, Chapter 26: The Aftermath

[A/N: Updates to Turning Points are probably going to be a bit slow through November, because I'm working on Cruel World Be Forgiving, but I'm still keeping up with this. I hope you enjoy this chapter!]

Chapter 26: The Aftermath

Even after the fighting was over, it was a few weeks before the village was back to normal. There were numerous repairs to be made, as much of the fighting had occurred in the village itself. Most of it had been confined to the area near the arena, which was nearly destroyed.

Besides that, the village had been left without a leader. The funeral service for the Hokage was a stark reminder of that.

Sasuke placed a flower before the small memorial in his turn, guilty that he wasn't feeling more sorrowful even though he had hardly known the Hokage. All the Konoha shinobi were standing in ranks under the pouring rain, which seemed to reflect the mood of most. Sakura was in tears, and he squeezed her hand in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. As Sasuke stole a glance over at the newly-formed Team 8, he saw that Hinata was crying as well, as Kiba uncomfortably patted her on the back.

After the service ended, everyone wandered off, lost in their own thoughts. Sasuke considered trying to go after Hinata, but didn't want to get her in trouble; there were far too many Hyuuga around, including Neji. Sasuke didn't want to know how the older boy would react to discovering him and Hinata together.

Sasuke finally ended up at one of the training fields he had frequented just before the exams, back when he ran for cover every time Team 7 came near him. It was amazing how many things had changed in less than three months, he thought as he sank to the ground under one of the sprawling trees and leaned back against the trunk. The rain was beginning to die down, and a few rays of sunlight were striking the benevolent stone face of the Third looking down from the Hokage Mountain in the distance.

"So I'm not alone anymore. How troublesome."

Sasuke jumped, the old instinct to flee rushing back for an instant. Looking up, he saw Shikamaru lying on the wide branch above him.

The other genin raised one hand in a lazy wave. "Shougi?"

"Well…" Sasuke wasn't sure how to reply to the abrupt invitation. "I've never played before." He and Itachi had sometimes played Go when they had enough time to spare for such frivolous things, but that was all.

Shikamaru shrugged and sat up so there was enough room on the branch for two. "I'll teach you. No one else wants to play right now and I _need_ to."

Sasuke quickly scrambled up the tree to sit across from Shikamaru. He wasn't sure how Shikamaru had managed to produce a shougi board in the few seconds it took, but then Shikamaru was always doing things one didn't expect.

It was quickly obvious that Sasuke was truly terrible at the game, but Shikamaru was a patient teacher and the mundane activity was a welcome distraction for both of them. By a few hours later, Sasuke had improved slightly, but that was still not even close to providing a challenge for Shikamaru's almost frightening talent for the game. "Have you ever entered a shougi tournament?" he asked as he puzzled over a move. "You could be famous or something."

"Who wants to be famous?" Shikamaru retorted. "I just play for fun. Having anything invested in it would ruin everything."

"I see," Sasuke replied, deciding on his move. As soon as the piece was down he realized that he had left himself completely open to a counter-attack, but it was too late to change it. At least here he could learn from his mistakes without everything being life-and-death.

Shikamaru was finally called away when his teammates arrived, leaving Sasuke alone again. The rain had completely stopped now, so Sasuke headed back into the main part of the village.

The atmosphere in Konoha was rather confused. It was as if the citizens couldn't decide between rejoicing that the war had ended with a victory or sorrow that their Hokage and so many others were dead. There had been the same sort of uncomfortable shadow over the festivities at the wild Inuzuka party, right after the fighting ended. Mostly, everyone just wanted to distract themselves, like Shikamaru and his shougi.

The village movie theatre seemed to be doing record business showing old action films and romance movies. Sasuke almost went over as well, but remembered that he still didn't have any money. Hopefully Team 7 would go on some proper missions soon; it was quite embarrassing forcing his friends to treat him all the time.

"Hey, Sasuke."

Sasuke resisted the urge to duck away; he and Kiba were, while not exactly bosom friends, getting on much better than they had been.

"Going to the movies?" Kiba asked, coming up beside him. Akamaru trotted briskly at his side. Looking at the dog now, no one would know that he had nearly lost a leg three weeks ago.

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't have any money."

"No way, even with the 'last heir' thing and all? I should have thought you'd inherit something."

"So did I. But since there haven't been any Uchiha around, all the money went into the custody of the village. I can't get at it for another few years."

Kiba sighed in mock disappointment. "And there go all my hopes of having a rich friend I can leech off of…"

Sasuke punched him lightly in the shoulder and they scuffled playfully for a few seconds before the remembrance of what had happened that morning settled again.

Sighing, Kiba sat down on the curb, resting his chin in his hands. "You know, it's hard to believe the Third's actually gone…" Akamaru sank down at Kiba's feet, setting his head on the boy's shoe as if to comfort him through the contact.

Sasuke sat down beside him. "Hey, Kiba," he began tentatively, "can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure, what?"

"So…the Hokage…See, I've been in a few other ninja villages, but mostly it seems that the Kage rule by fear." Suna and Kiri were prime examples of this; Itachi had once or twice taken a mission for their respective Kage which involved 'disposing of unwelcome elements'. "But everyone here seems to have really admired the Hokage, so…I don't really know what I'm trying to ask."

"No, I see what you mean," Kiba replied. "The Third…he said that the whole village was his family, and everyone could tell he meant it. He was like everyone's grandfather, or uncle, or something. After the Kyuubi attack—you know about that, right?"

Sasuke nodded. It was difficult not to have heard of a disaster of that magnitude, even if one had spent most of one's life several countries away from where it occurred.

"Well, the Fourth Hokage died during the battle. After that, the Third came back from his retirement and really put the village back together. Most every shinobi here would do, I mean, would have done, anything for him."

After that, there wasn't really anything to say. They stayed sitting there for a while, Kiba gently stroking Akamaru and Sasuke occasionally kicking at one of the pebbles in the street.

They only realized how late it had gotten when one of Hana's rangy gray dogs bounded up and growled a message to Kiba.

"Ichirou says that Hana wants us to come back for dinner," Kiba relayed, standing up and brushing himself off. At the word 'dinner', Akamaru had bounded to his feet and expectantly trotted a few steps down the road.

Sasuke trailed behind as the three of them returned to the Inuzuka compound. The clan of dog-warriors were all friendly, but they had a habit of forgetting that he didn't know how to communicate with the dogs. Hana and Kiba would translate for him, and Tsume sometimes remembered to, but often he ended up feeling a bit left out.

He missed Naruto's apartment, and wondered how the other boy was doing. Naruto had been devastated to hear of the death of the Third, and the memorial service this morning would have brought all that back.

Dinner was a solemn affair that evening. No one wanted to be the first one to speak, so everyone ended up eating their food in silence. Later, Sasuke couldn't even remember what they had eaten.

After helping Hana with the dishes, Sasuke slipped out and left the compound. The sun was nearly set, but he could find his way through the streets easily now and hurried to his destination.

Apparently Sakura had had the same idea, for he ran into her a few blocks away from Naruto's apartment. She smiled at Sasuke a little self-consciously, and gestured toward the basket of food she was carrying. "I, um, thought I would bring Naruto something to eat…he probably forgot, what with everything…"

Considering Naruto's near-worship of ramen, Sasuke didn't think that things would ever get quite that bad, but thought it very kind of Sakura all the same. The door was a little ajar, to let the evening breeze in, and Sakura tapped politely on the doorjamb before entering, Sasuke following close behind.

Naruto was sitting at the kitchen table with his back to the door, staring mopily into a cup of ramen. As the door opened, he jumped in surprise, nearly knocking his ramen over. "Sakura-chan! Sasuke!" he greeted them, smiling in his usual cheerful manner. "Wow, is that for me?" he asked, seeing the basket Sakura held.

"Naruto-kun?" Sakura said in some bewilderment as she set the basket on the table. "Are you all right?"

Naruto began rummaging through the basket. "Sure, I'm fine," he replied, looking up briefly, but there was a shadow in his eyes now. "Nothing's going to get me down, you know? I'm going to become the Hokage for sure, and protect everyone here!"

"Naruto-kun…" Sakura whispered.

"We'll be with you," Sasuke promised. "All the way."

Naruto smiled sunnily. "Then with you helping me, I'll be the best Hokage ever! Come on, share this with me," he added, starting to lay out the food on the table.

At Naruto's insistence, both Sasuke and Sakura stayed to eat, and after that to play board games, and after that to have a battle royale in the living room that nearly destroyed Naruto's defenseless ramen couch. Eventually they were all too tired to keep playing and collapsed across what was left of the furniture or on the floor.

Somehow, Sasuke could almost feel that things were going back to normal now, even though they might never be the same as they had been. Besides that, he had a future to look forward to.


	27. Part I, Chapter 27: Scheming

[A/N: See, I haven't forgotten about this! Thanks to vanelo159 for betaing.]

Chapter 27: Scheming

With the Chuunin exams and the war over (and no results for the exams to be decided on for some time, it seemed, as that would have been the responsibility of the Hokage), Konoha returned to life as usual. For a ninja village, this could never be very mundane, but things did fall into a sort of a pattern.

Team 7 began to train regularly for the first time with their new member. Even though Sasuke had officially been a member of Team 7 before, his training with Kakashi had taken precedence over team exercises.

Sasuke had never had anyone to train _with_ before—Itachi didn't count, as he was astronomically above Sasuke's level—so it was a novel experience to learn group fighting tactics. Perhaps because he knew this was a weak point, or perhaps because of the recent invasion, Kakashi focused on this, having the three genin gang up on him and critiquing their teamwork and performance.

Despite his advances, Sasuke found it difficult working in tandem. During the Forest of Death, it had been a different matter; one slip-up could have meant four lives lost, so everyone was giving it their all. Shikamaru had also been a stabilizing element, a reliable rearguard watching everyone's back. Naruto and Sakura were used to working with him and had trouble understanding that Sasuke didn't have the required skill to bail them out.

As it stood, they were three mid-to-close-range fighters getting in each other's way. After a particularly disastrous session that left Sasuke with a badly sprained wrist (courtesy of Sakura), Sakura with miscellaneous burns (courtesy of Sasuke) and Naruto with assorted cuts and a possible concussion (courtesy of both the others), Kakashi ordered them to do something about the situation.

Several hours later, after more than a dozen test battles against Team 10, who had agreed to be their guinea pigs after the sun set and Kakashi went home, they finally settled on what they thought was the best solution.

Sakura, with her genjutsu-countering skill and higher dexterity in throwing weapons, would be their long-range fighter. Sasuke could work in close range with the least chance of injury, due to the Sharingan, and Naruto's Kage Bunshin made him the best choice for mid-range fighting.

"Finally," Sakura gasped, sinking to the grass. "I thought we'd be here all night."

"No kidding, it took you that long?" Ino cut in. "Shikamaru thought of that after the second match."

"No way, and he didn't tell?" Naruto wailed.

Shikamaru shrugged. "You'd get more out of it if you figured it out yourselves."

"He just didn't want to go to the trouble of explaining," Chouji said around a mouthful of wasabi crackers.

Sasuke was too exhausted to add to the argument, not that there was any need once Naruto got involved, so he lay on his back and watched the stars. They sparkled enticingly, and he remembered the times when he used to try to reach them, when he had been very little and he and Itachi occasionally slept in the open. His older brother had had to extricate him from a great many trees when he couldn't get down by himself.

Itachi could probably see some of the same stars, and Sasuke wondered if he remembered the same things.

As he stared up at the stars, listening vaguely to the flow of the conversation, Sasuke thought he saw something fly past above them. No one else seemed to notice it, so he didn't say anything. It was probably just one of those messenger birds he had heard Kakashi mention occasionally.

…

Kakashi knelt, fuming, in the underground office of Konoha's most secret security organization. It was a position he had sworn never to end up in again, but it seemed that was one promise he was unable to keep. He could only hope that was Danzou wanted from him was something he could give, and he had a suspicion that even if not he would have no choice. Danzou tended not to make a move until he held all the cards; this was one of those times. With the Hokage dead and no provisions made for a successor, Danzou held much more power than a man like him could be trusted with.

"Do you know why I have summoned you here, after so long?" Danzou finally said.

"No," Kakashi said, taking to care to keep his voice even and his face calm. He would have welcomed his old mask, but he had shattered it years ago. While he had a few guesses as to what Danzou wanted, it would be unwise to admit to them.

"The Third Hokage, a few weeks before his…death…was unwise enough to allow a child of the Uchiha bloodline into the village, the last, apparently. And now the boy has gained enough power to be a considerable threat."

Kakashi flinched almost imperceptibly. He had expected that it would be something concerning Sasuke, but the attitude Danzou was taking implied the worst. If only Sasuke hadn't used Chidori…

"I do not need to repeat to you the circumstances surrounding the _incident_ six years ago."

Kakashi shook his head, amused in a horrified sort of way that Danzou didn't want to mention the Uchiha Massacre directly. It was like him, though, to skirt the issue and shift the blame like that.

"Obviously, Sasuke—if that is his name—cannot be permitted to learn of those events, which leaves us with very few options."

"Danzou-sama, you can't—" Kakashi began, half-rising, but Danzou cut him off.

"Be careful, Kakashi," he warned. "Although you have not been an acting ANBU or Root agent since then, you are still sworn to obey orders."

Kakashi subsided. Losing his head would do him no good in this situation. "My apologies. What do you want?"

Danzou smiled at Kakashi's obedience. "I will get straight to the point: Uchiha Sasuke must be disposed of."

"But—"

"Obviously you could do it much more easily than anyone else, for both parties," Danzou continued with the same sickening calm as six years ago. Kakashi had refused to participate back then, but had made no attempt to prevent the massacre or rescue anyone, for which he still felt the guilt. "Well?" Danzou snapped, as Kakashi did not reply.

The implications of Danzou's statement were clear: Kakashi was to permanently get rid of Sasuke himself, or condemn the boy to a slow death at the hands of Root's interrogation experts. Still, Kakashi had a few tricks up his sleeves, even if Danzou seemed to have the upper hand at the moment. "Very well. When must the mission be accomplished by?"

Danzou shrugged. "I leave that to your judgment…but soon. You may go."

Kakashi nodded curtly and vanished in a puff of smoke.

…

The next morning, Sasuke awoke with a start as something wet and warm and rough brushed over his face. "Yamato-tan, stop it!" he ordered, shoving the little dog away and burying himself further in the blankets. He was still exhausted from the grueling series of battles last night.

"Come on, wake up!" a voice said as the dog started pawing at the covers.

"Nnn…Akamaru?" Sasuke mumbled, gradually realizing that the dog on top of him was a little too large and heavy to be Yamato. "Kiba?"

"Yeah. Hey, I want to talk to you about something," Kiba began as Sasuke kicked the covers off and sat up.

"And it was so important you couldn't even wait until I got up?" Sasuke retorted, beginning to fold up the futon.

"Yup!" Kiba waited a little while to heighten the suspense before continuing. "So…you and Hinata-chan. What's the deal?"

Sasuke gasped, and attempted to disguise it with a fit of coughs. "Me and Hinata-san? Nothing! No deal!"

"Really…you know, I can tell when you're lying."

"W-what?"

Kiba nodded. "Having a good sense of smell comes in handy that way. Not foolproof, but close. So anyway, I figured that I haven't really done a whole lot to make up for being an utter jerk to you when you first came, I could help you two to…meet up, or something."

"I don't think that would do any good," Sasuke replied, having somewhat gotten over his shock. "She said that her father told her to stay away from me, and he already told me the same thing about her."

Kiba shook his head with an exasperated sigh. "You're really hopeless, you know that? Look, I'll handle it, okay, you just do your training thing with your team. I'll tell you what you need to do when you get back."

Sasuke had to agree, of course. While he wasn't entirely certain that he wanted to put his fate in Kiba's figurative hands, he was sure that passing up such a generous offer would be foolish as well as downright rude. That didn't keep him from thinking about it all day, though. While Kiba's reputation as a propagator of chaos was not nearly that of, say, Naruto, it was enough to cause Sasuke plenty of worry.

Kakashi was strangely withdrawn during their training, and for once didn't call for a three-on-one battle, instead having the three take turns sparring. To Sasuke's further bewilderment, he didn't even remark on Sasuke's obvious distraction. It was almost as if he was actually reading that book he carried around, instead of pretending to so they wouldn't be able to predict his actions.

Compounding the strangeness of the day, Kakashi let them go surprisingly early. It was barely afternoon when Sasuke re-entered the Inuzuka compound, having turned down an invitation to lunch at Ichiraku's Ramen. Naruto mostly had given up on trying to get Sasuke to eat ramen, but he still tried to drag him there once in a while, though whether it was out of friendship or just to tease him Sasuke wasn't sure.

"It's all set!" a voice said right beside him, making Sasuke jump.

"What's all set?" Sasuke asked, after he had just barely stopped himself from stabbing Kiba. The other boy took it well, thankfully. Most genin were always a little jumpy after training.

"The plan, of course. Oh, this is Shino."

Sasuke politely exchanged greetings with the final member of Team 8. He had seen Shino a few times before, but never spoken to him. It seemed that Shino didn't talk much, anyway.

"So," Kiba continued, "here's the plan. Hinata's already here, eating lunch at my house. Hana asks us all to help in the garden, and Hinata goes to get the tools out of the shed. You already _happen_ to be in the shed, trying to find…something…you decide, it's not very important. Anyway, you two are in there, there's a 'power outage' and you and Hinata get to talk until you decide it's been long enough or we think her dad might get suspicious."

"A power outage?" Sasuke asked. "What good would that do?"

"The shed has one of those fancy up-and-down electric doors," Kiba explained, leading Sasuke around several houses so they could get to the shed without being seen from Tsume's house. "There's a regular door too, but we quit using it because the other one was easier, so it's blocked up now. The only problem is getting you in without opening the door, because Hinata would definitely hear that. Can you get through there?" Kiba asked, pointing at a narrow window in the wall of the shed farthest from the house.

"Sure," Sasuke replied. He'd got through much smaller spaces to retrieve scrolls for his brother on missions. Gathering chakra to his hands and feet, he began to climb up the wall. There was no screen on the window, not that it would have prevented him, but the window had obviously not been opened for some time and was quite stuck. It finally opened, but with a loud grating sound that had Kiba looking nervously back at the house.

"Okay, we're good," Kiba said after a few seconds. "I'll get things rolling; Hinata should be here in a few minutes."

He and Shino disappeared around the corner as Sasuke climbed carefully through the little window and closed it again. There was a workbench underneath the window inside, so he didn't have to drop all the way to the ground. Once he was inside, he sat on a pile of crates in a shadowy corner and settled down to wait.

It was very stuffy and close inside the shed, and Sasuke soon began to regret allowing Kiba to have his way as time went on and nothing happened. Kiba wouldn't forget about him, would he? He tried to open the window again after a while, to let some air in, but it groaned in protest and refused to move. Until Kiba's plan went into action, Sasuke was stuck.


	28. Part I, Chapter 28: Garden

[A/N: I haven't been working on this a lot lately, as the document got so big my computer couldn't handle me scrolling all over in it while listening to music/watching anime/studying japanese at the same time. Now it's in GoogleDocs so things should work much better. There's a poll up on my profile for what story I should write next (probably after Part I is finished) so please vote!]

Chapter 28: How Does Your Garden Grow

With no telling how long he'd be trapped in the shed, Sasuke poked around to see if there was anything to do. There wasn't much light filtering in through the dirty window, but it was enough for him to explore a bit.

The shed was crammed with stuff. Besides the workbench, which was piled with tools, supplies, and unfinished projects, there were boxes of old clothes and myriads of canine supplies, not to mention the garden tools. There was also a rickety cabinet, which turned out to contain a lot of old but well-made weapons when Sasuke opened it.

Curious, he took out one of the swords. It was almost as long as his arm, but surprisingly light. He began to try a few of the moves he'd seen Itachi do with a katana, but quickly stopped himself as there was not nearly enough room in the shed for antics like that. Sighing, he put the sword back in the sheath and replaced it in the cabinet. Maybe he could ask Hana about it later.

At the sudden loud sound of the shed door rising, Sasuke jumped and nearly knocked over a pile of unusual- and breakable-looking things, but he regained his balance and ducked into a shadowy corner as Hinata entered the shed. Kiba was standing just outside, and flashed Sasuke an 'OK' sign before ducking out of sight.

Hinata lost no time in gathering a few trowels and weeding tools as well as some pairs of work gloves, and was just about to leave when the door ground into motion again. She jumped backwards to avoid being hit, dropping some of what she was carrying in the process, and the door hit the ground with an ominous clang.

Hinata quickly pressed the button to operate the door from the inside, but there was no response.

"Kiba-kun!" she called through a crack in the door. "W-what happened?"

"I think a fuse went out," Kiba called back. "I'll see what I can do about it, okay? You just wait there."

Sighing, Hinata turned back and started to gather up what she had dropped, then froze. "I-is there someone else in h-here?"

Seeing no reason to keep hiding, Sasuke stepped into the light. "Hinata-san?"

"S-sasuke-kun?" Hinata said, then her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did Kiba s-set something up again?"

Now it was Sasuke's turn to stammer. "W-what?"

Hinata apparently took this as a confession. "He does that sort of thing a-all the time."

"Oh."

After that, Hinata didn't seem to want anything more to do with him, so Sasuke went back to the corner where he had been sitting while Hinata perched on the workbench. They stayed that way for what seemed like ages as the time passed by.

"Um, Sasuke-kun," Hinata said finally, "h-how do you like it? In K-konoha, I mean?"

"It's nice," Sasuke replied. "But…there's people I miss that I left behind," he added quietly, feeling that Hinata wouldn't repeat anything said here. "I've made good friends here, though. I don't regret coming."

Hinata smiled a little, and Sasuke felt encouraged enough to come and sit on the workbench next to her.  
>"I'd like it if you could be one of my friends," he said quietly.<p>

Blushing a little, Hinata turned away. "Otou-sama s-said—"

"I know," Sasuke interrupted. "I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

"B-but," Hinata continued, a bit more firmly, "I w-wouldn't really m-mind."

"Really?"

Hinata nodded. Her fingers brushed his hand ever so lightly, but she pulled them back before he could really enjoy the sensation.

"…So," Sasuke said, in an effort to continue the conversation, "how do you like it in Konoha? After all, you've been here longer than I have."

"W-well," Hinata said, "I don't know much about anywhere else, but I like it here. M-my family's here, and all my friends. The, um, the weather is usually nice…and the trees are beautiful. I'm sorry!" she cut herself off suddenly, "that s-sounds silly, doesn't it."

"I don't mind," Sasuke said. He almost reached for her hand, but thought better of it. It was nice just to talk about simple, everyday sorts of things. Hinata was the only person he'd known here so far who didn't bring up fighting all the time. "Keep going."

"Okay…I have the cats, you know. They wander around at night sometimes, but they always come back. Sachiko had kittens once, when I was still in the academy, so I gave them all away one day. I don't know who their father was, since they don't look like Akira; he's ginger, and the kittens were silver gray. One day I gave them all away at the academy. Chouji took one, and Tenten, and I think—"

There was a loud rumbling as the shed door began to rise, and both of them jumped in surprise.

"I guess Kiba fixed it," Sasuke remarked.

Hinata nodded. "I g-guess—" Suddenly she froze, her face turning very pale.

As the door rose a little more, Sasuke could see what had Hinata so on edge. "Neji."

Kiba shrugged apologetically from behind the older boy. "Sorry, Sasuke, I—" He fell silent as Neji turned on him with a frigid glare.

"What are you doing with Hinata-sama, Uchiha?" Neji demanded.

"Why do you care?" Sasuke retorted. "You were the one trying to kill her just a couple of months ago."

He realized just as soon as the words were out that Hinata probably would have preferred not to be reminded of that incident.

"The private affairs of the Hyuuga clan are none of your business!" Neji snapped. "Hinata-sama, Hiashi-sama requires your presence."

Hinata jumped down from the workbench and allowed Neji to escort her to the gate of the compound. Her hand brushed Sasuke's again as she passed him, but she didn't look at him, even as he followed her outside.

"Do not think you can get away with this, Uchiha," Neji warned icily, turning at the gate to face Sasuke. "Stay away from Hinata-sama."

Sasuke glared back at him but didn't say anything. Hinata would probably be in enough trouble already without him making things worse.

Hinata waved back at him shyly as Neji turned his back, then followed him quietly out of the compound. Sasuke sighed as he watched her go, wondering what he would have to do to get her father to accept him.

"So how'd it go?" Kiba demanded suddenly, practically pouncing on him.

Sasuke jumped in surprise at the intrusion on his thoughts. "What?"

"With Hinata. Before Neji turned up and spoiled the fun. How'd it go? I _demand_ to know."

"Well, it was going okay," Sasuke said with a small sigh. "She said that she wanted to be friends with me...but that'll probably change now."

"I doubt that Hinata will let something like this deter her," Shino said suddenly.

"He's right, you know," Kiba said. "I'll just have to think of something even better next time!"

"Next time?"

Kiba nodded eagerly. "Oh yeah, it'll be awesome! The only problem—"

"What's going on out here?" Hana cut in as she came up behind them. "Where did Hinata go? I've been waiting for all of you you to come and help with the weeding for half an hour."

"Oops," Kiba said sheepishly. "I guess I forgot about that part."

...

The sun was lowering in the sky by the time Sasuke, Kiba and Shino managed to get away from Hana's supervision and take a break from the weeding.

Even though Sasuke's back hurt from bending over the plants for so long, he didn't really mind working in the dirt, and he had a feeling Kiba didn't either, for all his loud complaints. Shino hadn't actually done any digging the whole time, sitting on the edge of the herb garden and directing his bugs to eat away certain plants. It was very efficient, but Sasuke couldn't help but find it a little disturbing as the weeds shrivelled and died, seemingly without any outside cause.

Finally the phone rang inside the house, and Hana went to go answer it. As soon as she was out of sight around the corner Kiba flopped dramatically onto the grass. "Finally!" he gasped. "I thought she'd work us to death!"

"For that to be so, we would have to be here several weeks," Shino pointed out sensibly.

"You don't know my sister," Kiba retorted. "I'm sure she could manage it in one afternoon."

"Hey, Hana's nice!" Sasuke cut in.

"You're a guest, she's taking it easy on you."

Sasuke didn't think Kiba really meant all this. During his stay with the Inuzuka clan he had learned that they tended to express affection with friendly teasing, even if it sounded biting to those not in the know. Hana did the same thing to Kiba, but the Inuzuka had mostly refrained from teasing Sasuke, understanding that he hadn't previously been exposed to that sort of thing.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke looked up as he heard the shout from the gate. "That's Sakura, I'll be right back," he told the other boys quickly before running off. Sakura was waiting just outside the gate. Naruto was nowhere to be seen, which was a bit of a surprise. The boisterous blond usually followed her around like a faithful puppy, although Sakura still didn't seem to have picked up on why.

Since cutting her hair after the prelims, Sakura had taken to wearing it in pigtails, and the light breeze ruffled her pink bangs.

"What are you here for, Sakura?" Sasuke asked as he ran over to her.

Sakura pretended to pout. "What, I can't just come over to see my teammate? But, really, I came to tell you that Kakashi-sensei just left on a solo mission, so we're going to be training by ourselves for a week or so."

"Kakashi left?" Sasuke said in confusion. "But he's got a team. Can he even take solo missions?"

"I didn't think so, but I guess there must be a loophole somewhere," Sakura replied. "He left all of a sudden, but he said that he'd have a mission for us when he got back so we'll need to keep up. Naruto said that we should get together at seven in the morning tomorrow, and show Kakashi what we could get done if he actually got there on time. I think I managed to talk him out of it, though. Anyway, that's all. What have you been up to? You're all dirty."

"I've been helping Kiba and Shino with Hana's garden," Sasuke said. He didn't want to mention the fiasco with Hinata. "Do you have any idea when Kakashi will be back?"

Sakura shook her head. "He didn't say—all this is really weird. Naruto and I will come get you when we're ready to train tomorrow, so you can get back to your gardening now." She ran off, her pink pigtails bouncing on her shoulders as she turned to give Sasuke a friendly wave from the corner.

Sasuke leaned against one of the gateposts as he puzzled over this latest development. Of course Kakashi's business was his own, but Sasuke hadn't thought he would just up and leave them without any explanation.

He would have plenty of time to get some elucidation once Kakashi got back, Sasuke decided. Of much greater priority at the moment was Hana calling for him to get back to the herb garden.

[A/N: Interlude bit just about over now, so Part I will be over soon, after which I will take a short break to rehash the Part II outline. Also, I put up a Turning Points Christmas Special, so you might want to have a look at that. Thanks for reading!]


	29. Part I, Chapter 29: Off Again

[A/N: I'm really sorry it took me so long to update! I'm actually posting this unbeta-ed so you can get it faster. We are within just a couple chapters of the end of Part I, then I will repost edited (and often much improved) versions of the chapters while preparing Part II. Stay tuned!]

Chapter 29: Off Again

While Sasuke often 'happened' to wander past the Hyuuga compound in the days that followed, Hinata was never alone so he didn't get a chance to speak to her again. Kiba offered to give her a letter, but that just sounded like something out of a tragic kabuki play (and Sasuke knew a good deal about these, having been in several). Besides, even if he had thought of anything to write, it would have only gotten Hinata in trouble if someone else had found out.

Team 7 continued to meet every day for practice, even without Kakashi there. Thankfully, even the same old practice never got boring with Naruto around to think of something insane. The three of them were still puzzled as to the reason for Kakashi's sudden excursion, however, and usually ended up trying to figure it out. While Sakura held to the theory that he was secretly married to some girl in a foreign country, Naruto and Sasuke agreed that he was more likely on a less romantic covert mission. Why he had gone instead of somebody else was a complete mystery.

When he heard that his 'Eternal Rival' had abandoned his team, Gai offered to train Team 7 along with his own students. Sasuke had never properly met Team 9's teacher before, and it was an interesting experience, to say the least. However, the idea of having to be near Neji in a situation that could potentially lead to combat was not one that Sasuke thought was wise. Fortunately, Naruto and Sakura weren't in favor either, although for different reasons. Apparently Team 9's training regimen was known and feared throughout the village. From what fighting Lee had been like, Sasuke could guess why.

Shikamaru did come and train with them a few times, when he wasn't with his own team. It certainly helped. Still, there was only so much a group of rookie genin could think up when left to themselves, and ten days later they had about run out of ideas for making their training interesting.

"So," Naruto said, dangling by his knees from a branch of one of the trees surrounding their training field, "what do you want to do?"

"Nothing Naruto, it's too hot," Sakura moaned, fanning herself with a tattered piece of paper she'd found in the grass as she sat against the trunk of the same tree. Her pink pigtails hung limply and her bangs were clinging to her face.

Sasuke wasn't taking the sudden heat wave very well either. While he had been in Suna before coming to Konoha, that had been in the spring, when it wasn't as hot. He had never been in the south during the summer before; during the Chuunin exams it hadn't been that bad, but right now it was sweltering and stickily humid. Naruto was the only one of them who had any energy, but then he had always had more energy than them.

"Well, if you don't want to train, maybe we could go to Ichiraku's," Naruto suggested, letting himself drop from the tree and flipping in midair to land on his feet.

"I don't see how you can eat so much ramen, especially in this heat," Sasuke said. "Do you have miso broth instead of blood, or something?"

Naruto started to laugh, then suddenly froze as his blue eyes got wider than Sasuke had thought humanly possible.

"What?" Sasuke asked quickly.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura said, putting down her makeshift fan and pulling out a few senbon.

"No, no," Naruto said, grinning innocently, "It's just that Sasuke had the best idea _ever!_ A ramen IV would be _awesome_, you know?"

Sakura blinked in surprise, and Sasuke shuddered.

"Well, well, what's all this?" someone said from the branch Naruto had just vacated.

Sakura promptly unleashed her senbon before turning and blushing. "Kakashi-sensei! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kakashi replied, waving down at them, "Although that's more than I can say for my poor book...the library won't be pleased, but at least it's readable. That was an admirable display of split-second reaction, which is more than I can say for you two—" Kakashi's gaze transferred to the two boys disapprovingly.

"Sorry," Naruto said. "I was trying to figure out how you could get ramen noodles to go through an IV."

"I was trying not to think about the same thing," Sasuke added, suppressing another shudder.

"...Right..." Kakashi sounded like he didn't want to think about it either. "I won't ask. Well, seeing as I was more than a week late for our training, I suppose I should make up for it. Anyone for ice cream?"

That suggestion met with unanimous approval, upon which Team 7 headed for the nearest ice cream stand. Sasuke thought that this must be as much for Kakashi's benefit as theirs, as the Jounin's vest was quite familiarly dusty. Kakashi must have been in Suna, or at least Wind Country, during his mysterious absence.

"So what's all this for?" Sasuke asked, looking down at his pistachio ice cream but not biting into it yet.

"What, I can't be nice to my students?" Kakashi protested. He hadn't removed his mask, but some of his vanilla ice cream disappeared every time no one was looking his direction.

"Sure, you can be nice," Sasuke said, "But this is a little past that. Are you trying to make up for something you're going to do?" Such as instigating a brutal new training regimen to make up for Team 7's 'time off'?

Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly before going back to its usual lazy expression. "You wound me, Sasuke," he sighed, gesturing dramatically with his ice cream. "Oh, sorry, Sakura-chan," he added, as the girl yelped when a few melted drops struck her bare arm.

"Hey, so where were you anyway, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto demanded. His orange sherbet was almost gone already. "You just vanished, you know, it was really wierd!"

"Naruto, it's probably secret," Sakura pointed out between delicate licks at her chocolate ice cream. "You shouldn't ask."

"No, no, it's all right," Kakashi said. "To be honest, I wasn't even on a mission, I just took some of the leave I've been passing up. I was looking for Tsunade."

"Tsunade-sama?" Sakura said, instantly interested. "Why?"

"Who's Tsunade?" Sasuke asked.

"Tsunade is the last of the Sannin," Kakashi explained. "Jiraiya wants to ask her to be the Hokage, but he hasn't been able to find her yet so I thought I'd have a go. Didn't have any luck, but at least I was able to rule Suna out. Now, Sasuke, are you going to eat the ice cream you're alleging I'm bribing you with, or are you going to just let it melt all over your hand?"

Sasuke looked at his ice cream again and quickly began licking at it before it all fell out of the cone.

He could still remember when the last time he'd had ice cream had been, even though it was certainly very long ago. It was back when he had been very little and Itachi had attempted to put him in a civilian school for the first time. The first day had been miserable, since not only had he been new, but far behind the other children and obviously poor.

By the end of the day he was ready to cry, even though he tried to hide it when Itachi arrived; his brother thought this was important so Sasuke would suffer through it to please him. Itachi had of course seen through Sasuke's pretense, although he had refrained from saying anything. Later that afternoon, as they had to walk through the market square to get to their cheap hotel, Itachi had quietly handed him a chocolate ice cream cone. They had been forced to leave that town before the weekend was over, but Itachi had begun tutoring him a bit before trying to send him off to school again.

Thinking back on it, Sasuke knew that in their precarious financial situation at that time it must have been a sacrifice to even purchase a simple treat, even though he had thought little of it at the time. He had merely assumed that his adored older brother could do everything, and thinking back that wasn't all that far from the truth. He hadn't realized until much later, though, that Itachi must have given up a great deal himself to ensure Sasuke's relative comfort.

"Ah...Sasuke? Earth to Sasuke?"

"Oh, sorry," Sasuke said quickly. "What were you saying, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I said, I've got another C-rank mission for us now that I'm back," Kakashi repeated.

"Hopefully it won't be as bad as the last one," Sakura muttered.

"What was that, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi asked, raising his visible eyebrow.

Naruto cut in before Sakura could repeat her statement. "I think she means that it had better be better than that time in River country where the princess nearly got killed."

Sasuke half-choked on his ice cream and promptly cursed himself for being so obvious. He should have seen that comment coming! Kakashi was looking at him oddly now, so Sasuke muttered something about brainfreeze and prayed that he would buy it.

Fortunately Kakashi had more to say and therefore paid little attention to the interruption. "Don't worry...this won't be anything like that. Anyway, we're supposed to leave day after tomorrow. I'll let you off of training tomorrow so you can get ready."

"Where are we going, Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"To the Land of Iron, carrying the mail. It's rare for bandits to attack, but the weather can get nasty in the mountains this time of year so make sure you're prepared. Well, I'm done," Kakashi finished, setting down his inexplicably empty cone and standing up. "I'll see you three later," he said with a casual wave before ambling off with his hands in his pockets.

"And there he goes again..." Naruto muttered. "Doesn't he like us anymore?" The blonde's tone was facetious, but Sasuke could see the hurt in his friend's expression and wondered why he would think that way.

"Don't be silly, Naruto," Sakura scolded, but her voice was gentle and Sasuke had a feeling she sensed Naruto's depression, too. "We're almost Chuunin—really, you or Sasuke might be already, they just haven't announced the results of the Exams yet. Kakashi-sensei shouldn't have to babysit us all the time."

"I guess that makes sense," Naruto said, sounding somewhat mollified. "Hey, do they have instant ramen in the Land of Iron?"

"If you start off on ramen again, Naruto, I'm leaving," Sasuke said firmly.

"Aww, but—"

"I'm serious."

"Heathen."

"Fanatic."

Naruto shrugged dismissively. "So, Sasuke, what'cha going to pack?"

Sasuke frowned at the question. While he had more possessions now than he had ever had before, there was little that would be suitable for a trip to the snow-bound Land of Iron. Maybe he could borrow something of Kiba's. "I'll need to think about it," he said.

"I've got a jacket you can borrow!" Naruto announced cheerfully, for once successfully managing to guess what Sasuke was thinking.

"It's orange, right?" Sasuke demanded.

"Well, yeah, but..."

Sasuke sighed. "I appreciate the offer, but I really think Konoha can only manage one traffic-cone orange ninja at a time. You don't want to blind anyone, do you?" he asked with mock seriousness.

Sakura giggled as she bit down on the end of her ice cream cone, and Naruto took advantage of Kakashi's absence to scoot closer to her. Although Sakura pretended to be annoyed, she didn't do anything to make him back off, and by the time Sasuke stood to leave Naruto was practically sitting on the counter in front of her. They looked quite happy in each other's company, and Sasuke almost felt a little jealous.

[A/N: It is a tad short, I'm sorry.]


	30. Part I, Chapter 30: Confrontations

[A/N: I've had much better luck in thinking of interlude scenes, so here's a really fast update! Yay!]

Chapter 30: Confrontations

It was a little cooler on the day Team 7 was to leave Konoha, but not nearly enough to make Sasuke feel very good about the amount of winter clothing he had stuffed in his pack. Still, Kakashi had said it would be cold. With the parka and cargo pants Hana had found for him, Sasuke would look more like an Inuzuka than anything else if he had to wear them; it was a pity Yamato couldn't come. Kiba had promised to take good care of him, however, and Sasuke wouldn't be gone all that long.

Sasuke had just finished making sure the pack was fastened securely and was about to put it on when Kiba burst into the room. "Oh, good, you're still here," he said breathlessly. "When do you have to leave?"

I'm supposed to be at the gate in ten minutes," Sasuke replied, shouldering the pack. It was dense but not that heavy; Sasuke had gotten very good at packing during the years he and Itachi had been on the move.

"We've got plenty of time then," Kiba said. "Kakashi's always late. Here, come with me," he continued, suddenly grabbing Sasuke by the arm and pulling him towards the front door.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked as Kiba led him out of the compound and down the street.

"Ssh!" Kiba whispered forcefully. "We need to make sure nobody notices us."

"Huh? Why?"

Kiba didn't reply, so Sasuke had to follow him if he wanted to have any idea what was going on. Besides, Kiba was probably right about Kakashi. The only way to get him to arrive for something on time was to estimate how late he usually was and lie about the time he was supposed to get there. Team 7 had tried this a few times, but Kakashi had usually seen through the trick and given them even harder training for their pains.

After following Kiba around a dizzying array of corners, Sasuke ended up in front of a small (but, he supposed, rather 'cute' to people who liked that sort of thing) used clothing store. Sasuke studied the delicate gingerbread trim around the entrance and the floral designs painted on the windows filled with merchandise, but couldn't figure out why on earth he had been brought here.

"Okay," he said finally. "You win. Now explain what the point of this is."

"All right," Kiba said with a mischievous smirk. "You see, this place is Team 8's current _mission_. Shino and I are doing _inventory_ in the _back_. I'm sure you can find something you_ need inside_." He clearly expected Sasuke to get something from his unusually placed emphasis, but Sasuke still wasn't sure what was going on. Kiba sighed. "Oh, forget it," he said, pushing the door open as bells tinkled inside. "I'm coming in the back way. Go for it, Genji."

Kiba shoved Sasuke inside, then vanished as the door fell shut. Sasuke looked around the little store curiously as his eyes adjusted to the slightly dimmer light. It was an awfully cutesy store; Sasuke couldn't see why there would be anything he needed here. He was all packed already, anyway.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke jumped, simultaneously realizing what Kiba had been implying and how stupid he had been not to pick up on it. "Hello, Hinata-san," he said, turning to greet the girl behind the counter.

Hinata smiled back tentatively. "What are you doing here, Sasuke-kun?"

"Kiba was plotting again," Sasuke explained, and Hinata nodded in immediate understanding.

"He dragged you all the way here, didn't he," she said sympathetically.

"He certainly did," Sasuke replied, setting his pack down and coming over to the counter. "How are you? I'm really sorry about the thing with the shed, I didn't think it would get you in trouble. I should have told Kiba I wouldn't—"

Hinata shook her head. "I make m-my own choices," she said calmly. "And afterwards I accept t-the consequences."

"You knew I was there the whole time, didn't you," Sasuke said.

"I could have," Hinata said with a secretive smile. "Is there anything you would like to buy here?"

"Well, not really," Sasuke replied, looking around the store at the fluffy sundresses displayed in the center and the summer hats and accessories lining the walls.

Hinata giggled. "I s-suppose it is kind of a girly store, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. How did you end up working here, anyway?"

"The owner is away making arrangements for a shipment, and Kurenai-sensei wanted to give us an easy mission s-so she could take a day off," Hinata explained. "Are you leaving on a mission? You h-have your pack."

Sasuke nodded. "We're taking the mail to the Land of Iron. Actually, I really should go...I'll see you when I get back, I guess."

"All right," Hinata said. "Good-bye."

"Yeah. Good-bye," Sasuke said awkwardly, picking up his pack and backing towards the door. The little bells chimed to signal his exit.

There was no sign of Kiba outside, so Sasuke headed in the direction he thought would take him towards a main street which would lead to the gate. Hopefully he would be able to rejoin his teammates before Kakashi arrived.

After a few minutes of navigating through the narrow streets of the merchant's district, Sasuke could hear the hum of voices that he knew came from the market square. He was about to put his half-forgotten pack on again when something struck him from behind, making him lose his balance. The pack flew out of his hands, and one of the ties came undone as it landed, throwing a few books into the dusty alley.

As Sasuke turned and started to scramble to his feet, he only just had enough time to recognize his assailant before he was grabbed by the shirt and slammed up against one of the walls lining the alley.

"N-neji?" Sasuke gasped as he tried to catch his breath. This was not a good situation. Sasuke's weapons were all in his pack at the moment, not that it would be a good idea to attack a fellow Konoha ninja outside of an official duel. Hopefully Neji merely wanted to threaten him, instead of anything worse.

Neji glared down at him, and Sasuke could practically feel the hate burning from the other boy's eyes. What had he done, to make an enemy of this magnitude?

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded defiantly, not wanting to give the Hyuuga the satisfaction of seeing his fear.

"You were with Hinata-sama again," Neji said coldly, not loosening his grip in the slightest. "Are you really that foolish, not to understand that we don't want someone like you around her?"

This really was like something out of a kabuki play. "And why should you care? We've been over this before. You don't own Hinata-san. You don't own me, either." Perhaps Neji was doing this to spite Hinata; Sasuke was sure that he still resented her for being born into the Head Family. He was even more sure that Neji resented him for his defeat in the Chuunin exams, which was definitely not serving to temper things between them.

"There are some things that Hinata-sama does not yet understand," Neji said with dangerous calm. His grip on Sasuke's shirt tightened, and Sasuke found himself lifted a couple inches of the ground, the collar of the shirt starting to restrict his breathing. "Do you know what the fate of the Uchiha was?"

"No," Sasuke said with some difficulty, wondering what Neji could possibly be getting at. His vision was starting to get fuzzy around the edges and he focused on Neji's face, trying to keep at least some clarity.

Neji leaned in so that their faces were practically touching. "The fate of the Uchiha was to _die_."

Sasuke's breath caught and he could feel his heart speeding up. "What?"

Neji looked as if he was about to say something more, then paused. Smirking, he relaxed his hold on Sasuke and shoved him roughly to the ground. "The Last Uchiha is not nearly so dangerous without an audience, I see," he said mockingly before turning away and walking out of the alley, kicking one of Sasuke's books aside before he sped off and vanished into the market crowds.

As if it wasn't bad enough that his worst enemy had been able to surprise him so completely, now Neji knew that Sasuke was still working through a second-year reading textbook.

"Are you all right, Sasuke-kun?" a voice called from above him, and Sasuke jumped before looking up.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi jumped down and helped Sasuke gather up the books, dusting them off as Sasuke repacked them. Sasuke had some difficulty with the buckles of the pack and suddenly realized that his hands were shaking.

"How much of that did you see?" Sasuke asked, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself and hoping that Kakashi had arrived too late to see how easily Neji had humiliated him.

"Not much," Kakashi replied, but Sasuke had no way of telling whether his teacher was being truthful or not. "When I got to the gate, Naruto and Sakura said that you weren't there yet, so I went to look for you and traced you over here. Neji left as soon as he sensed my presence."

So not only had Sasuke been beaten by his rival, it had taken his teacher's arrival to rescue him. This was just getting worse and worse.

"What did he say to you?" Kakashi asked abruptly, as Sasuke finally refastened the pack (on his fourth try) and put it on.

"What?" Sasuke said sharply, stiffening in surprise, and immediately tried to cover up the reaction. "He...he didn't say much, he just told me to stay away from Hinata. Again."

"And?" Kakashi probed. Sasuke did not reply, and Kakashi sighed. "Come, Sasuke-kun, there must have been more than that or you wouldn't be thrown off this badly. Did he threaten you? I'll speak to Gai-sensei about it if you think he's going to harm you."

"No, he didn't threaten me," Sasuke said. It was bad enough that he'd had to be rescued by Kakashi, he didn't want anyone else to hear about it.

"Then what?" Kakashi asked insistently.

Clearly Kakashi was not going to relent until he got some kind of an answer. Sasuke turned so his bangs would hide his eyes and prevent them from giving anything away. "He insulted me for being an Uchiha."

Kakashi seemed to be somewhat satisfied at this, although he probably guessed that Sasuke had not quite told him everything, and the two of them walked towards the gate in silence. This gave Sasuke plenty of time to think.

_"The fate of the Uchiha was to die."_ What had Neji meant? Sasuke had known for a long time that the Uchiha were no longer in Konoha, and presumably no longer welcome from the way Itachi acted. Still, the Uchiha was a big clan, and he had always assumed that they couldn't be _all_ dead. When clans tried to take each other out, there were certainly casualties, but there must have been survivors—scattered, but at least still there. There was little for a clan to gain from outright extermination of a rival clan that couldn't be gained by merely forcing said rivals out.

Why couldn't Itachi have told him the truth? Sasuke wasn't a baby, and he knew what death was. He deserved to know what had happened, and he didn't want to find out from someone who hated him. If the Uchiha clan was all gone, so what? Sasuke had barely known them. He could take the truth; he would rather that than this continual dance around _almost_ knowing and horrible things being implied. The real story couldn't possibly be bad enough for Itachi to have a reason to hide it this long. Of course, Itachi had been terribly overprotective, but still...

This whole thing was getting to be too much. Sasuke would be glad to get away from Konoha for a couple of weeks and finally have some peace for a bit.

[A/N: Neji is indeed a Class A jerk. I'm actually borrowing some of his characterization from another fic that I'm not really planning to write. It doesn't make me want to smack him any less, though.]


	31. Part I, Chapter 31: On the Road

[A/N: This is the second-to-last chapter of Part I, if things go according to plan. I'll probably take a bit of a break between parts to sort some things out; a lot of things need adjusting from my original outline due to the way this fic is turning into such a monster.]

Chapter 31: On the Road

Naruto and Sakura, thankfully, did not enquire about Sasuke's dishevelled appearance when he joined them at the gate. Team 7 left Konoha in silence.

Kakashi was carrying, along with his own pack, the mail from Konoha designated for the Land of Iron. There wasn't much; a few parcels, some personal letters and banking forms. As the Land of Iron had managed to remain neutral amidst the shinobi countries, many people had their savings there. Itachi had, Sasuke knew, whenever they had enough money to bother saving, but under a false name the same as everything else. Sasuke had been too little at the time to be especially interested in the boring grown-up stuff, so he hadn't bothered to remember where it had been or what alias Itachi had been using at the time. This was unfortunate, because it meant that if—no, when—he began to search for Itachi, he wouldn't be able to use either the lead or the money.

It was cooler in the forest than it had been in the village, and much less humid. It was also very quiet, and Sasuke's thoughts finally began to slow the frenetic racing they had been doing since Neji had jumped him. He still wanted to yell at Itachi until his brother finally told him what was going on, but Sasuke couldn't do much about that at the moment so he tried to think about more pleasant things.

There were plenty of pleasant things in the forest. Naruto wasn't being loud enough to scare off all the little animals today, so Sasuke amused himself by watching the squirrels that occasionally peeked out and chattered at them. He had always liked squirrels, even more so since Risu-tan had been his constant companion through half his childhood. He actually had the bedraggled (but much beloved) toy in his pack now; not because he needed it, of course. If he had left it back with the Inuzuka, Yamato and Akamaru were very likely to think it one of their toys, and Sasuke did not want to come back to an eviscerated childhood memento.

Remembering that he couldn't let himself get too distracted—he was on point, after all, even if they were unlikely to run into trouble so close to home—Sasuke turned his attention back to the road. There were light footsteps coming up behind him, and Sasuke focused on them briefly before concluding that they were not a threat, just someone he didn't much want to talk to at the moment.

"Sasuke-kun?"

However it didn't look like he'd really be able to avoid it. "Sakura," Sasuke responded, trying to put the right amount of disinterest in without sounding rude. Sakura was a good friend and he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he really didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

Unfortunately, Sakura didn't take the hint. "Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke thought about telling the truth: namely, that he had managed to get Hinata in trouble again, Neji had trounced him badly enough to make him look like an Academy student (as well as finding out that he still couldn't read as well as an Academy student) and Kakashi had been forced to rescue him. Then he decided that he didn't want Sakura to know all that yet—especially about Hinata—and settled for "Sure, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You seem kind of down today."

Curse feminine intuition.

"Is this about Hinata-chan?"

"Well, part of it is, but—wait, what?" Sasuke began to answer her question before quite realizing what he was saying and cut himself off just too late. "I mean, no! Why should it be about Hinata-san?"

"You just said it was."

Sasuke sighed. Some small part of him didn't really mind telling Sakura, although another part rather sulkily pointed out that she really oughtn't be prying into his personal business. Sasuke thought about it for a moment and told the latter to shut up. "How did you find out?"

"Ino told me."

"Ino?" Sasuke gasped. A startled squirrel bounded away to the safety of a tree that did not happen to be directly by the forest road, and Sasuke remembered to keep his voice down. "How did she find out?"

"You bought some flowers and she did some snooping. I made her promise to be discreet, though. She's only told Shikamaru and Chouji and me."

"That's discreet?"

"When Sai went out with Ayame-san from Ichiraku's last year, the whole village knew about it by the next morning. Although actually Ino set that one up, so maybe it doesn't count."

"...Oh." Sasuke couldn't think of anything else to say. On second thought, it had probably been rather foolish to think he could keep his affection for Hinata a secret; Kiba knew.

"So are you really okay?"

"I'm not sure," Sasuke said truthfully, "But I can deal with it." Sakura seemed to accept this, and they walked on for a while in companionable silence.

...

Team 7 stopped at the civilian town of Yubin after several hours of walking. Here, they would rest for the night before picking up the civilian mail and heading as quickly as possible to the Land of Iron. The reason Konoha had this mail delivery contract was because the ninja had been able to deliver faster than any other organization, and Kakashi wasn't about to let their record slip now.

After renting a room in a hotel for the night, Kakashi left his students there and went to pick up the mail they would be delivering in the morning.

"He's not going to be back for hours," Naruto said as soon as the door shut. "Let's go exploring!"

"Naruto, I don't think that's a—" Sakura began, looking up from her unpacking, but Naruto didn't let her finish.

"Oh, come on, it'd be fun, you know? There's a festival or something going on, we should totally go and check it out! You agree with me, Sasuke, right? Right?"

Sasuke was currently lying on one of the beds, trying to read his textbook, which was what he wanted to do for the next several hours. However, Naruto was flagrantly invading his personal space (not to mention bouncing on the bed in a most annoying manner—Sasuke wondered if this was what Itachi had felt like when he was little), and Sasuke knew he wouldn't relent until he got what he wanted. "Sure, whatever you say."

"Great!" Naruto cheered, diving off the bed, grabbing Sakura's hand and heading for the door. "Come on, Sasuke," he said, as Sasuke did not follow them. "Let's go!"

Sasuke thought about refusing so that Sakura and Naruto could have some time alone for once, but decided that matchmaking his teammates wasn't worth the headache it was certain to turn out to be. When he got home, though, he would start hinting to Kiba that those two needed to be his next 'project'.

The festival was loud and bright and crowded. Naruto, predictably, loved it, but Sasuke quickly regretted letting himself be dragged along. Once they were out of the building, Naruto paid more attention to 'Sakura-chaaan' than Sasuke, and when Sasuke looked around after a moment of distraction, he found that he had been separated from his teammates by the pushy crowd. He could see blobs of pink and orange moving into the distance, but couldn't make any headway against the press.

Seeing a space between a few booths, Sasuke ducked through it into an adjacent and much less crowded road. Sitting against the back wall of a store, he looked up at the starry sky.

Itachi had taken him to a few festivals when he was little, although they had been much less crowded. Sasuke would have liked to have his older brother to follow tonight, and felt a little embarrassed at how dependent he clearly still was. He would have to get along without Itachi until he was able to find him again, and in order to find him again he would have to be able to get along without him. It was really a bit backwards.

"And here you are, off by yourself again."

Sasuke jumped as he noticed the face looking down at him from the roof. "Kakashi-sensei! Do you have to keep doing that?"

Kakashi dropped down to sit beside him. "Not really, I guess, but I have to have something to do for fun."

Sasuke scoffed at this but didn't say anything. He was reasonably familiar with the constellations in this part of the continent, and tried to name some of them: the Huntress, Nekomata, Susanoo. Itachi was much better at it, and the game was dull with only one person.

"Lonely?"

Sasuke glanced at his teacher and concluded that Kakashi would most likely keep pushing if he didn't get a reply. "Not really," he said with a small shrug. "I'm used to it."

"I see," Kakashi said, his tone not giving Sasuke any inkling of what he might be thinking. "I thought you would be with Naruto and Sakura, although I would like to point out that all three of you should be in the hotel room right now."

"I just went so Naruto would shut up," Sasuke explained, "but then I got tired of the crowds."

Kakashi nodded, then stood up, brushing mostly imaginary dust (that wouldn't have shown anyway) off his pants. "Come along, let's find your little miscreant friends and haul them back to the hotel where they belong."

Naruto and Sakura were not very difficult to find, really. Kakashi headed straight for the loudest section of the festival with an assurance that gave Sasuke the impression that he had done this many times before. Soon, he could see a very familiar orange jacket and as they got closer, he could see that Naruto was standing in front of a ring-toss booth and apparently had already had a good deal of success, as Sakura was holding several candy bars, a bag of goldfish and a large stuffed blue cat. At the moment, Sakura was blushing and half-hiding behind the cat.

Naruto waved as he saw Sasuke and Kakashi approaching. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei! You come and play too!"

"No thanks," Kakashi replied firmly. "There's a strict code of honor in Konoha—nobody above Chuunin level gets to rip off the civvie festivals. Well, you've had your fun, now let's go."

Naruto pouted but obediently followed Kakashi back through the crowds. Sakura hesitated a moment to put the candy bars in her pockets, then handed the goldfish and the stuffed cat to a couple of children who had been watching the booth but didn't seem to be able to afford a round. Sasuke waited for her. Thankfully, Kakashi was a lot easier to keep track of than Naruto, due to his height, and it didn't take them long to catch up.

"Now," Kakashi said once they returned the hotel room, "to bed, all of you. We have a lot going on tomorrow. Sakura-chan, you can have a bed to yourself, Sasuke, Naruto, you two share the other one."

"What about you, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi sat down in one of the chairs, suddenly looking very tired. "I have a lot of thinking to do. Now, off to bed, off to bed!"

Sasuke didn't sleep much that night, and it wasn't entirely because Naruto was a horrible person to have to share a bed with. He was fairly certain, however, that Kakashi didn't sleep a wink.

[A/N: Yubin is not a canon Naruto town, but it turns up in almost all of my stories. It's a very useful place, and honestly there must be some place where non-Konoha civilians and Konoha shinobi encounter each other.]


	32. Part I, Chapter 32: Eye of the Storm

[A/N: Sorry for slow update, but I was taking my time on this chapter to get it as good as possible, as well as having to work on a paper for school. Also, about this being the last chapter: apparently I lied. I was originally planning to have this be one chapter but finally gave up and broke it. More for you to read, right?]

Chapter 32: Eye of the Storm

After Yubin, Kakashi led them at a much faster pace north. The summer heat quickly began to diminish, and by the time they reached the mountain range that bordered the Land of Iron on the south it was quite chilly. Sasuke was glad for the cargo pants and fur-lined parka Hana had sent along with him, even if Naruto did tease him a bit when he wore them.

Sakura and Naruto were dressed for the cold as well by this point; Sakura had traded in her cotton sheath dress for a knit burgundy sweater and a long split skirt, and Naruto was wearing a puffy orange jacket with matching pants. Thankfully they were on a peacetime mission, as all together they were very obvious against the snow. Kakashi was the only one who hadn't changed much of his outfit, only acknowledging the weather by wearing full-foot boots instead of the standard toeless ones.

They had stopped for the night at the base of the foothills, and were now preparing to head into the mountains themselves. Naruto stared up at the peaks, looking awed. "Wow," he said. "They're really big, huh?"

Sakura swatted at him, but the downy jacket Naruto was wearing meant that he barely felt her blow. "Of course they're big," she retorted, but she sounded impressed, too.

Sasuke wasn't quite so overwhelmed, although he was somewhat affected by the sheer height of them. He had been in mountain ranges before, although admittedly not nearly such big ones. When he and Itachi had been to the Land of Iron before, they hadn't been coming from this direction, so he hadn't seen these mountains before. The snow-covered peaks looked forbidding, even though he told himself it was just his imagination.

"I'll lead the way from here on out," Kakashi said. "Keep close; I know the path, and it's not a good idea to stray from it."

"Is it dangerous up here, then?" Sakura asked, shifting her pack to rest more comfortably on her shoulders.

"If we don't do anything foolish, it shouldn't be," Kakashi replied. "But there can be avalanches in these mountains, so it always pays to be careful. Right, let's go!"

A rather subdued group followed Kakashi into the mountains. The snow seemed to mute even the soft sound of their footsteps. While the trail Kakashi led them on was relatively clear, Sasuke could see that the snow deepened to deep drifts on either side of them. There could potentially be lethal crevasses hidden beneath the snow banks, so Sasuke did not need to be reminded to heed Kakashi's cautioning.

Naruto occasionally cast longing glances at the snow, clearly eager to start a snowball fight, but Sakura hauled him back every time he took a step towards the drifts. Sasuke smiled a bit at that. The snow brought back good memories for him, of chasing gleefully about after his brother and playing with the clouds his breath made in the cold. Back then it had been so very hard for him to walk in the footsteps Itachi made in the snow; he had almost had to jump from one to the other until Itachi deliberately shortened his stride. There wasn't nearly so much of a height difference between them now.

The wind picked up as they climbed higher into the mountains. It caught in Sasuke's slightly too large clothes and pushed at him coaxingly. While Sasuke managed to resist it, occasionally the wind became strong enough to make him stumble. The wind-tunnel effect created by the peaks they were travelling between meant that the wind's force was concentrated on the walking group, and as Sasuke was at the back he took the worst of it.

Kakashi called a halt at around noon, and the three genin gladly joined him in the relative shelter of a mountain cave for lunch.

"How much further is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, taking an apple out of her pack. She rubbed it with the sleeve of her sweater a few times before taking a dainty bite.

"Yeah, how long till I can have some ramen, huh?" Naruto cut in before Kakashi could reply. Since he had not been informed that they would be in too much of a hurry to boil water in the mountains, he was rather sulky at the moment. He had eventually settled for some jerky (as well as sharing some of Sasuke's food) but was still upset that he couldn't have his favorite dish, especially considering how much of it he was carrying.

"Patience, my boy, patience," Kakashi said mildly. "With luck, we'll be through the first pass by nightfall, which would mean that we'd make it down into the Land of Iron by noon tomorrow." Frowning a little—at least, that was what Sasuke thought the slight shift in his visible eye meant—Kakashi looked past them at the expanse of sky beyond. "I do not like the look of those clouds, though," he said, quietly enough that Sasuke wasn't sure they had been meant to hear it.

As Kakashi returned his attention to his book, Sasuke turned to look out of the cave in the direction Kakashi had been looking. While the day had started out clear and sunny, in the frigid cold way it was in the north, there was now a heavy bank of clouds rolling in from the east. Sasuke hadn't ever been that good at reading the weather, but he knew enough to tell that those were storm clouds.

Kakashi gave them a few more minutes to finish their lunch before slowly standing up and putting his book back in its pocket. "Time's up, kids, put your things away and let's go. Naruto, you take a turn in the back this time."

After a very short time, they were back on the mountain trail, with Sasuke taking up Naruto's former position directly behind Kakashi. Luckily, Kakashi did not seem inclined to converse at the moment; Sasuke had been afraid he'd start interrogating him about the Neji incident again. While he understood that Kakashi was in some part responsible for his students, Sasuke preferred to keep some things private.

It was evident that the storm clouds were soon going to reach the mountains, and Kakashi picked up the pace as the wind became fiercer. Sasuke found it impossible to keep his hood up, and the spikes of Naruto's hair were beginning to look a bit crooked.

Another half-mile or so later, Kakashi paused and turned to his team. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to worry about this at this time of year, but there's definitely going to be a storm. I don't like it, but at this point we really don't have any choice but to keep going, at least until we cross the pass. Just be careful, and use chakra to stick your feet to the snow if you have to."

They stuck much closer together after that. The wind had changed direction so that it was now coming down the face of the mountain, instead of up, which meant that Kakashi was now blocking a bit of the wind, thereby sparing his shorter students.

The next section of the trail was on a ledge that, while theoretically wide enough for two people pass each other, was narrow enough that Sasuke had absolutely no desire to try it. Remembering Kakashi's suggestion, he began to channel chakra to his feet for added stability. It took a little getting used to; while the snow was less stable than, say, tree bark, it was much more solid than water. The fact that it was made up of many different components also made it a bit tricky.

Team 7 had reached the middle of the ledge trail when the storm reached them. It started with just a few snowflakes; Sakura, who was just behind Sasuke, slowed to look at them, at least until Naruto bumped into her. Sasuke couldn't blame her—Fire Country was almost invariably temperate and there was rarely any snow there.

As the blizzard got worse, they quickly lost any appreciation for the snow. After about ten minutes, Sasuke couldn't see much past Kakashi's back, and quickly stepped away from the edge, or anyway where he thought the edge was. He couldn't see much besides white, and the wind stung his eyes so that sometimes he could hardly see at all.

With so much snow being added so quickly, it became harder and harder to use chakra for stabilization. Another problem, Sasuke realized suddenly with intense clarity, was that when one could not see the surface underneath the snow one might accidentally push too much chakra into a potentially unstable area, thereby shattering it.

Everything seemed to happen in very slow motion. One moment, Sasuke was walking along the trail, bent against the wind as he looked back briefly to check on the others. The next moment he concluded that Naruto and Sakura were fine and took another step, only to have what he thought was a trustworthy section suddenly collapse underneath his weight.

It took a split second for Sasuke to realize what had happened. By the time he had figured it out, he was already starting to fall, Sakura's shocked scream still ringing in his ears.

Sasuke found himself rather resigned to everything, really. At least he couldn't see the bottom; that would have been the worst, having to anticipate the impact. Falling from this height, he might not even be conscious by the time he hit the ground. He did still want to see Itachi again, though. Maybe, Sasuke thought rather pettily, his brother would be sorry to have abandoned him when he heard the news.

Sasuke was still considering this in a vague sort of way when he realized that the rocks he had dislodged were now falling past him, not with him, and that his shoulder really hurt. Looking up, he could see why.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke exclaimed, and promptly realized that he had forgotten to breathe for the last few seconds.

Kakashi was lying flat on the ledge, one hand firmly grasping Sasuke's wrist. Neither of them moved for several seconds; Sasuke was afraid that any shift in his weight might destabilize the ledge even more, and Kakashi was probably thinking the same thing. Sasuke couldn't see Sakura and Naruto from where he was, and wasn't even sure whether they had realized yet that Kakashi had caught him.

"You _do_ get yourself in trouble a lot, don't you?" Kakashi remarked finally.

Sasuke glared at him, then gasped in panic as he felt Kakashi's fingers suddenly start to loosen. Their eyes met, but Sasuke couldn't read Kakashi's blank expression. Before Sasuke had time to react, however, Kakashi's grip tightened again and the next moment Sasuke was being hauled back onto the intact portion of the ledge.

"Sasuke-kun! You're okay!" Sakura shouted, flinging her arms around him with Naruto following suit a second later. Sasuke was a bit too shaken to figure out how to properly respond, so he just held still until they backed off.

"All right," Kakashi said, helping Sasuke to his feet, "After we get off this ledge, we'll find somewhere to shelter until the storm's over. Stay close to me and as far away from the edge as you can; we do not want a repeat of what just happened."

Sasuke didn't feel like retorting to that, so he obediently followed Kakashi, trying to ignore the pain in his wrenched shoulder. Kakashi wouldn't _really_ have let go, he told himself. It must just have been the cold—Kakashi didn't have any reason to harm him. Right?

[A/N: Since I wasn't planning for the break I had to think of a chapter name on the quick.]


	33. Part I, Chapter 33: In the City

[A/N: Not the last chapter. Again. I'm so sorry. There's a poll up on my profile, so please take a look! I was working on a birthday one-shot for Itachi, but it's going to be late so this will have to do.]

Chapter 33: In the City

After getting off the treacherous ledge, Kakashi led Team 7 off the trail into a sheltered area behind a few large boulders. The wind was not nearly so intense behind the rocks, and they could actually hear each other talking.

"Now what, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, helping Sasuke get his pack off since he couldn't manage it with his hurt shoulder.

"Hopefully the storm will blow over in a few hours," Kakashi said. "If not, we'll just have to keep going until nightfall, this is no place to spend the night."

Naruto and Sakura continued to chatter, but Sasuke didn't pay any attention to what they were saying. Leaning his pack up against one of the rocks, he lay his head against it and tried to rest. This effort was largely unsuccessful; thanks to Neji's thinly veiled threats right before Team 7's departure and Kakashi's nearly dropping him less than an hour ago Sasuke was tense and jumpy. Even his teammates' amiable conversation was enough to set him on edge, and his thoughts were coursing about at a dizzying rate.

This was all getting to be too much: Sasuke didn't know what to do now. Was he actually in danger, or was he just getting paranoid without his older brother to protect him? And if he was in danger, what was there he could do about it, if anything?

Before he could do much consideration on that score, Sasuke drifted off into strange but thankfully unrelated and relatively peaceful dreams. In one of them, he found himself back in the days when he was small and Itachi was everything and he didn't know enough to realize he had anything to worry about.

Sasuke almost wished he was back there now; if he had known what a mess it would cause, he wouldn't have begged so much to be permitted to take the exams. While it had looked like a good idea at the time, he really should have guessed that nothing would go according to plan. For him and Itachi, things rarely did.

"Sasuke, wake up."

Sasuke half-roused from his doze and opened his eyes to see Kakashi looking down at him. The remembrance of all that had happened that day was enough to bring him fully awake. "What is it?" he asked, a little warily.

If Kakashi noticed Sasuke's tension he made no sign of it. "It isn't a good idea to sleep very long in this cold," he began. "Anyway, the snow's let up and the wind isn't so bad now, so we're going to keep on. How is your shoulder?" he asked, as Sasuke stood and bent to pick up his pack.

Sakura and Naruto were already ready, so apparently Kakashi had been waiting for him. Sasuke was torn between being thankful for the consideration or embarrassed at slowing them down. "It's okay," he said. It wasn't like he was really lying; he'd had worse once or twice, such as the time he had tried to teach himself how to climb trees when Itachi had refused to tell him how he did it. Still, Sasuke had difficulty concealing a wince of pain as he got the pack on. "How far is it?" he asked, hoping to divert Kakashi's attention to another subject.

"We got slowed down quite a bit by the storm," Kakashi said, "but if we don't get stopped again we should reach the border town at the base of the mountains sometime after midnight."

"Midnight?" Sakura repeated. "You mean we'll be going through these mountains in the dark?"

"Not these mountains, no," Kakashi replied. "By dark we should be nearly to the foothills. Come on, gang, let's go."

Team 7 obediently followed Kakashi as he set off up what they presumed was the trail—the snow had obscured everything but Kakashi seemed to know what he was doing. It had almost stopped snowing by now, with only the occasional flurry, and the sun was out again although it did little good as far as temperature went. Since it was afternoon, the sun was lower in the sky and at just the right angle to shine in the climbers' eyes as they approached the pass.

Kakashi waved at them to hurry, and the three genin scrambled up the steepest part of the path to reach where he was standing. "The Land of Iron," Kakashi announced grandly, making a sweeping gesture at the view of the valley below them.

Beyond the craggy foothills, the largest of the Land of Iron's border cities rose above the snow. There were few flat roofs—the constant snow would gather on them and potentially cause a disastrous collapse—so the architecture of the city was mostly sharp spires or softly sloping domes. As the sun was setting, it gleamed gold and amber on the towers.

"It's beautiful," Sakura said, her eyes wide as she gazed down at it. "It looks like a fairy city."

Sasuke was not inclined to be so poetic, but he did think it was a striking sight.

Naruto had more important things on his mind. "Do they have ramen down there?"

"I'm sure they do," Kakashi said. "In fact, I'll treat all three of you once we hand over the mail. Come on!"

Going down was, thankfully, much easier than going up, and Sasuke began to feel less edgy the closer they got to the base of the mountain. After all, the lower down they were, the less chance there was that he would fall. Or...be pushed. Sasuke quickly tried to brush those thoughts out of the way, with moderate success. The attention required to keep his footing helped to keep his mind of some things, as well. It was less snowy on the far side of the mountain, so Sasuke could actually see what he was stepping on—to his great relief—but there were still many loose rocks that slipped treacherously underfoot. He did stumble a few times, but luckily there were no cliffs to fall over on this side.

After approximately a half an hour more, the sun set completely, leaving them to navigate the rest of the way in darkness. The Sharingan helped Sasuke a lot, and Naruto's blisteringly bright ensemble was actually a help now as it made the other boy very easy to follow as he bounced along behind Kakashi. Sakura was behind Sasuke, so he wasn't sure how she was managing, but from her steady footsteps she was certainly keeping up.

All of them were eager to be off the mountain, it took them much less time than Kakashi's estimate to reach the foothills. From there, the walk to the city was easy by comparison; while not a short distance, the ninja could traverse it quite comfortably. There were few mountain ranges in Fire Country, so the softer hills and even (albeit snow-covered) plain were much more to Team 7's liking.

Even though it was after ten when they arrived at the city, the main streets were still well-lit. Unlike most shinobi villages, it was unwalled. Some of the other cities in the Land of Iron were walled and heavily armed, but this one was located on a peaceful section of the border where even if it was attacked, the mountains would block invaders long enough for help to arrive.

Kakashi led them through the streets to what looked like a large administrative building. However, when they climbed the steps to the entry, they found the doors to be locked.

Naruto rubbed some of the frost away from the glass doors and peeked through, his breath quickly fogging up the space he made. "There's nobody in there," he said.

"What now, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "It's freezing out here."

It had been freezing before, of course, but now that they had begun expecting to be able to go inside and warm up it felt worse somehow. The streets of the city were amplifying the wind, as well, and Sasuke pushed his hood up, enjoying the feel of the soft fur against his cold cheeks.

Kakashi frowned a little—or Sasuke thought he did, at least. He was getting a bit better at interpreting the slight shifts in expression that could be detected beneath the Jounin's mask. "We'll have to bring it back in the morning," Kakashi replied, putting his hands in his pockets. "For now, though, I'll get you that ramen I promised. There must be someplace around here that stays open this late."

"Does it have to be ramen?" Sasuke sighed as they headed down the steps again, but he was quickly drowned out by Naruto's rejoicing.

Luckily, the restaurant they eventually found also had udon, so Sasuke contented himself with that. Kakashi would have called it a good deal more than 'content' as between the two of them, Sasuke and Naruto forced him to lighten his wallet by what was probably a good percentage of what he would get paid for this mission. Sakura did her bit as well, in between stealing toppings off of Naruto's ramen—an action which, while loudly protesting, Naruto did nothing to prevent.

Even though it was very late—or perhaps because of it, since only a couple other places were still open—Team 7 was not the only ones in the restaurant. There weren't many other customers, but together with the Konoha shinobi there were maybe a dozen people in the restaurant. Most were dressed for travel, probably traders or mountaineers who were waiting until morning to head into the mountains again. A couple of them, sitting at a table in a far corner of the restaurant, were so bundled up that hardly anything else could be distinguished about them.

Team 7 was attracting a bit of attention, but then shinobi attracted attention anywhere that wasn't a ninja village. Kakashi was getting most of the stares, but Sasuke nervously pushed his hood a little further up just the same.

Sasuke was beginning to feel a little less paranoid now that he was back in 'civilization' and had some hot food, but still thought it wise to be cautious. He'd thought it would be nice to be out of Konoha for a while, but now he just wished he was back there again.

"Enough, enough," Kakashi said finally, grabbing Naruto before he could get up and order yet more ramen. "Leave me enough to get us an inn for the night, unless you want to sleep out in the cold."

"Just _one _more bowl?" Naruto begged hopefully.

"I think seventeen is quite enough," Kakashi replied firmly.

Naruto pouted but obediently followed Kakashi and the others out of the restaurant, still casting longing glances at the menu as the door closed behind them.

Somehow, Kakashi had enough money left after all that to rent a room for the night, and all of them felt much better after a good night's sleep. At least, Naruto and Sakura did; Sasuke didn't sleep very well and again he was sure Kakashi had barely slept at all.

After breakfast the next morning, Team 7 went back to the building that had been closed the night before. Now that it was light enough to read the sign over the door, Sasuke could see that it was a postal building. It seemed a little extravagant to have a whole building just for the mail—most ninja villages made do with giving it a few rooms in another administrative building—but then civilians didn't have access to as many alternate methods of sending messages.

The public area inside was smaller than Sasuke would have thought from the outside. There was a shipping counter, a small table stocked with pens and address labels, and a few racks full of greeting cards, envelopes and sheets of cardboard that could be folded up into boxes.

"I've got to take this into the back," Kakashi said as they entered. "You three wait out here."

"But there's nothing to _do_—" Sakura began, but Kakashi vanished behind the counter before she could finish the sentence.

After a couple minutes of flustered pouting, Sakura and Naruto started a game of guessing what was in the packages people were bringing in. Sasuke paid attention to them only vaguely, occupying himself with pacing tensely back and forth.

"What's _with _you, Sasuke?" Sakura asked finally, breaking off an agitated discussion with Naruto about whether or not someone would spend good money to ship instant ramen cross-country. "You've been so fidgety ever since yesterday. It's not like you're going to fall over a cliff again, so calm down, okay? You're making us nervous."

Naruto didn't look particularly nervous, so Sakura was probably mostly speaking for herself. Sasuke did make an effort to compose himself, however. Sakura would only have spoken so sharply with so little provocation if she was very tense.

Then Kakashi came back. Despite the fact that their teacher seemed outwardly no different than his usual lackadaisical attitude, Sasuke still felt wary. He lagged behind a bit as they left the city, not wanting to enter the treacherous mountains again.

[A/N: So, _hopefully _I'll be able to end Part I next chapter (after which will be some interludes, and then a break, and then Part II). This whole new thing with the pictures is pretty interesting, and since I've been planning on drawing the characters anyway I'll have to make a proper cover for Turning Points.]


	34. Part I, Chapter 34: Our Farewell

[A/N: Turning Points has more than 50,000 hits now! Thanks so much, everyone! I finally finished this a week or so back, but I was waiting to see if my beta would get back to me before I posted it. I've decided I probably shouldn't keep you all waiting any longer so I'm posting as-is but there might be edits later. I'm also kind of freaking out over how my readers will take this, so please bear with me here and remember there is a Part II! Also, there's a new oneshot, 'Icy Heat' covering some of the backstory referenced in Chapter 17.]

Chapter 34: Our Farewell

Kakashi frowned a little as he cast about for the three chakra signatures following behind him. There were, he realized, more than three: five, to be exact. Turning, he looked back at his group, but could only see his three students; the other two followers were hiding themselves expertly, which suited Kakashi's purposes for the moment. Hopefully he would be able to predict their movements well enough to keep things running smoothly once it began.

Sakura and Naruto, while they noticed him looking back, seemed to think nothing of it. Sasuke, however, looked up and met Kakashi's gaze with a cold stare of his own.

So Sasuke was suspicious. Kakashi was not surprised but did not welcome this new revelation, as it would certainly make things a bit more difficult.

For the hundredth time since leaving Konoha, Kakashi wished he had an option that allowed for a better chance of Sasuke's survival. However, Danzou had made his choices very clear, and Kakashi's brief experience in Root made him sure that its leader would not easily be deceived. If he wanted to protect Sasuke, Kakashi needed to provide convincing evidence that the boy was dead.

If he had been able to explain things to Sasuke and thereby gain his cooperation, Kakashi could have made a much safer arrangement. Unfortunately for that idea, propagating anything other than the 'official version' of the Uchiha Massacre (which Sasuke still didn't know about anyway) would gain one nothing but a discreet assassination for all concerned. Therefore, Kakashi was stuck unable to assure more than his own actions, putting his entire team into grave danger in order to hopefully provide one with a slim chance of survival.

Kakashi turned back to the road and tried to convince himself he wasn't a complete failure as a mentor.

**oooooo**

Sasuke frowned as Kakashi turned to look back again. It seemed like he was waiting for something, and Sasuke didn't really want to know what for.

Sakura and Naruto didn't seem to notice the tension at all, and were actually engaged in a snow fight, bending down to scoop some snow off the ground every few paces and fling it at each other. They were keeping the trail well enough, but their casual attitude was annoying and Sakura was giggling just a little too loud at a pitch that was just a little too high.

Sasuke had never wanted a mission to be over so badly. Even being back in Konoha and facing Neji's harassment would be better than being out here in the mountains. If another snowstorm like the last one blew up, anything could happen to him and no one would ever know.

"Keep close, everyone, it looks like we might have some more snow in a bit!" Kakashi called. "Sakura, Naruto—stop playing, you two!"

Sasuke sighed and wondered who had it in for him.

The snowstorm that did indeed begin a short time later was considerable less severe than the last one, but still made visibility uncomfortably close. Sasuke tried to put his hood up to shield himself from the cold wind, but it was blowing straight down the mountain at him and pushed the hood off every time. After a few minutes, Sasuke gave up on that. At least his long bangs were keeping any snow from getting in his eyes, but he could feel his face starting to go numb with the cold.

Sakura had had the foresight to bring a scarf; maybe she had brought a spare as well. As long as it was warm, Sasuke wouldn't care if it was pink. With that in mind, he made to catch up with the others, but they had gotten a ways ahead of him while he had been wrestling with his hood. The wind continued to impede his progress as he struggled to close the gap.

Ironically, it was the wind that prevented him from falling immediately into the ambush, by blowing the smoke-tagged kunai a few feet to the side. Sasuke spotted it just as smoke began to plume up from it, and dove to the side to avoid being caught in the thickest of the smoke, where he expected that whoever was targeting him would approach from.

He spared a split second to glance ahead as he pulled out a kunai, and saw that Kakashi had also noticed the smoke and was headed towards him. Naruto and Sakura were not following Kakashi, instead hurrying up the trail toward the mountain pass.

There was no more time for observation after that, as Sasuke was otherwise occupied with deflecting shuriken thrown at him from the smokescreen. He wondered whether the attackers were after him specifically, or whether they were just going after him because he had been in the back. Either was possible, but that no one was trying to actually attack him physically yet was a bit odd.

Things got a little fuzzy after that. Sasuke took a step back in an attempt to get his bearings, but just as he did so there was a sharp crack of an explosive tag, the snow shuddered and collapsed underneath him and he found himself falling. He wasn't sure how far he fell—the large amount of snow that fell with him made it impossible to see anything, as well as making it hard to breathe—but when he hit the bottom several seconds later everything went cold and black.

**oooooo**

Eventually, Sasuke began to drift fuzzily back into consciousness. He forced himself to keep still, however—he was tied up and being carried over someone's shoulder, and he didn't think it would help matters if they found out he was awake. His forehead protector had been shoved down over his eyes, one of the rivets holding the metal plate on scraping his temple painfully in the process. Other than the fact that he was still cold, which meant the Land of Iron, and could still feel the sharp wind, which meant the mountains, he had no idea where he was. There were a lot of mountains in the Land of Iron, and they could have been travelling for any amount of time.

"His teacher's still following us," the one carrying him called to someone up ahead.

"Well then keep quiet, stupid!" the other snapped back. It sounded like a woman, but with the wind rushing past Sasuke wasn't sure. "We're fine," she continued more quietly as the one carrying Sasuke approached her. "The Copy Ninja might be famous, but he doesn't know this country nearly as well as we do. Besides, he can't leave the other two kids for long, especially with that snowstorm over the pass. Come on, Gentaro, let's go. There's a cave up a little higher where we can hide out."

Gentaro shrugged, nearly making Sasuke gasp at the jolt, then trudged after his partner. Neither of them said anything more, and Sasuke used that time to try to think. His head ached from the fall, which didn't help.

From what his captors had said, Kakashi was following, at least for now. However, Sasuke knew his teacher would be thinking of the mission, and even if he had sent Naruto and Sakura on with the mail, he was sure Kakashi wouldn't let them navigate the treacherous pass on their own. Hopefully his teammates would find somewhere to stop and wait, otherwise there wasn't much time left for Kakashi to find him.

On the other hand, Kakashi had seemed to be anticipating something all morning, and had been acting strangely ever since they left on this mission. Kakashi wouldn't just abandon him, would he? He had come so close to letting go the day before, when Sasuke had tumbled over the ledge. But why would Kakashi do something like that? Sasuke really wasn't sure, unless it had something to do with his family. Neji apparently held a grudge against the Uchiha for some reason—perhaps Kakashi also had some secret crime to hold against him.

The pain in Sasuke's head increased with every step the man carrying him took, and eventually the turmoil of his thoughts dissipated as he slipped into unconsciousness again.

**oooooo**

Sasuke's first realization when he came to was that he was bitterly cold. Having been left for what he guessed had been several hours with no way to move, the chill was getting to him even though he was no longer in the wind. He could feel rock underneath him, so apparently Gentaro and whatever-her-name-was had found that cave.

In an effort to relieve the stiffness from the uncomfortable position he had been in and hopefully get a little more feeling into his icy fingers, Sasuke shifted slightly, pushing himself up enough with his tied hands so that he could scoot back against the wall. Or at least he hoped scooting back would put him against the wall, and thankfully it did.

"Well, hello there, sleepyhead."

Sasuke jumped. At first, in his still muddle-headed state, he almost thought Anko was addressing him—this woman did have a very similar voice to hers, sharp and giving the impression that she could silence an entire room without even speaking very loud. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Where are you from? I am a Konoha shinobi and you have no right to—"

"Can it," the woman snapped. Sasuke did, and she made a soft little huffing sound that might have been a laugh. "Honestly, I couldn't care less about Konoha," she continued. "What I care about—" she tapped suddenly on the forehead protector covering Sasuke's eyes, making him jump "—is these."

Sasuke gulped. While the Hokage had attempted to keep things quiet about Sasuke's background after the Chuunin exams, there was only so much that could be done since people from so many different places had seen him use the Sharingan in the preliminaries against Rock Lee. The reaction he had gotten then was part of the reason he had avoided using it against Neji, where even more people had been watching. Despite that, it probably hadn't taken that long for word of it to spread to the missing-nin, many of whom would not pass up a chance for such a valuable bloodline. With, presumably, not a whole lot of other Uchiha around, a monstrous profit could be gotten from the sale of an intact Sharingan eye.

Before now, Sasuke had never really worried about this. When he was younger, he had always relied completely on Itachi to protect him, and as he had grown up, they went through so many false identities and aliases that the fact he was an Uchiha honestly meant rather little to him. And then, once he joined Konoha and realized that they had no designs on his bloodline limit, he had hardly thought about it at all. This meant that he didn't have much of a contingency plan for if that sort of situation actually came up.

These people probably needed him alive at least for a while longer. Sasuke could only hope that he would have enough time to find some way of getting free. After a few moments, the woman left and he began experimentally rubbing the ropes tying his wrists against the rough rocks behind him. He was sure he must be cutting his hands badly in the process, but he was so numb with cold by this point that he couldn't tell at all. He couldn't tell what sort of progress he was making, either, but he thought he felt a few strands give way.

The two kidnappers were in the front section of the cave; from the sound when the woman (whose name seemed to be Mio) came to check on him, there was some sort of wall separating where Sasuke was from the front of the cave. This meant that they couldn't see him directly, but even if he could get loose he would still have to get past Gentaro and Mio to exit the cave. With no weapons and little chakra, that would be quite difficult. Still, he decided he could work that out later, and that even just trying to escape would be better than sitting there and doing nothing.

Wearing through the ropes by scraping them against the rocks was slow going, and Sasuke stopped every time he heard a sound, worried that Mio or Gentaro might be able to see what he was doing. At least with his hands behind his back, they would have to come pretty close to tell that something was amiss, but he wasn't about to take any chances.

Things went on like this for what Sasuke though was a few hours; by this time his hands were sticky with blood from all the times he had misjudged and cut his hands against the rocks instead of the ropes. Despite all this, he pressed on and was finally getting close to severing one of the ropes.

Sasuke froze as he heard a sound, then jumped in surprise as he heard an explosion and Mio's enraged scream. Then he felt Kakashi's chakra, and wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not.

The sounds of fighting in the front of the cave were too confused for Sasuke to guess what was going on until the combatants moved into the back portion where he was. Sasuke pressed back against the wall and tried to take up as little space as possible, not wanting to get hit by a stray kunai so close to rescue. He could hear Mio and Kakashi's harsh breathing as they tangled together, then a thump as Mio was thrown heavily against the wall near where he was sitting.

"I'm awfully sorry about this, you understand," Kakashi drawled, making Sasuke's heart began to race, "but I'm afraid I can't leave any witnesses today."

Mio started to say something, but then her voice cut off with a sharp slashing sound and a choked gasp. Sasuke cringed in horror as something wet and warm splattered across his face and hair.

Tugging at the ropes around his wrists, Sasuke was finally rewarded as the last strands snapped. At the same time, Kakashi (he assumed) jerked his headband off—the hefty knot didn't give but the jounin was strong enough to break the cloth easily.

Sasuke could see blood coating the metal plate of the headband as Kakashi held it, trailing across the silver surface and pooling in the carved lines of the Konoha emblem. He forced himself not to look to his left where he was sure Mio's body was lying. "Kakashi—sensei—what..."

He didn't get a chance to finish before Kakashi grabbed him by the front of his parka—_not him too_, Sasuke thought—and pushed him back against the wall. The older shinobi still had his mask up, but Sasuke could tell he was smiling from the way his visible eye was crinkling, and Sasuke didn't want to know how he could smile like that after he had just killed two people. The blood was still dripping off Sasuke's headband...

"Do pay attention, Sasuke."

Sasuke's gaze jolted back to Kakashi's face. "What do you want?" he demanded, albeit very shakily.

"We'll come to that in a moment," Kakashi continued with the same disturbing calm. "You remember how I said you caused a lot of trouble? Well, nothing that's happened since that little incident in River Country—you didn't think I knew about that, did you now—has really changed that. In fact, Konoha has decided you're more trouble than you're worth."

"Sensei, you wouldn't...kill me, would you?" Sasuke asked, his eyes widening. Despite himself, he found himself looking to the left, where Mio was lying.

Sasuke hadn't had a chance to see what she looked like while he was a prisoner. From what he could see of her face now she looked a bit frustrated, and rather pretty, and very _very_dead. A wide pool of blood was spreading from under her neck, staining her light brown hair; Sasuke shifted his feet a little when he noticed how close it was to his shoes.

"That depends," Kakashi replied finally, "on whether I ever see you again."

With that, Kakashi let go of him with a little push and turned away. Sasuke stepped forward, managing to avoid the pool of blood, and grabbed his sleeve. "You can't just _leave _me here!" Itachi had already abandoned him; he had hoped Konoha wouldn't.

Kakashi growled in frustration, then jerked his sleeve out of Sasuke's grip. Before Sasuke could react, Kakashi had seized his parka and slammed him back against the wall, much harder than before. Sasuke's head hit the wall with enough force to make his vision swirl confusedly, and he could taste blood from a bitten tongue.

"Why can't you just _get this through your head,_ you stupid brat!" Kakashi shouted, startling Sasuke with his vehemence more than his words—he had never heard Kakashi express this degree of any emotion. "Konoha doesn't _want _you. You're lucky I'm giving you this much of a chance, and if any Konoha shinobi ever sees you again, _they are going to kill you._ So just get out of here and lie low and keep looking over your shoulder, and if you don't attract any attention from anywhere else, _maybe _you'll survive for a few more years." Kakashi's grip on Sasuke's parka, which had become tight enough to restrict his breathing, began to loosen as Kakashi's usual casual demeanor gradually returned. "Honestly," Kakashi added with a sardonic half-smile, "you might even be better off if I killed you."

Before Sasuke could really start panicking again, Kakashi had vanished.

Still terribly confused, Sasuke slid to the floor—not noticing or caring that he got blood all over his pants in the process—and pulled his knees to his chest, trying to make his breathing and heart rate even out.

_What would Itachi do? _he wondered. Or what, perhaps, had Itachi already done? Had the two of them fled Konoha ever so long ago to avoid just such a scenario as this?

Sighing, Sasuke tried to wipe some of the blood from his face with his sleeve, but didn't manage much more than smearing it around and even adding some of his own from his badly cut wrists. His head was hurting badly again (being thrust against a wall and then shouted at had not helped at all), and he had to grip the wall to pull himself to his feet again. Still bracing himself against the wall, he gradually made his way into the front section of the cave.

Sasuke could immediately feel the cold wind again, and pulled his hood up in order to guard against it a little better as he looked around to see if his pack or one that had belonged to either of the kidnappers was still in the cave. If Kakashi had taken them he was doomed; he couldn't go back to the city, and there was no way he would dare follow Team 7 considering what had happened.

He did find his pack, thankfully, although he had to pick his way around what probably was what had been left of Gentaro in order to get to it. Because of how messed up his hands were from his attempts to cut the ropes earlier, he had some trouble getting the pack open, but he finally managed it and began piling his books on the floor of the cave—little caring for how damp they got—in order to find his first-aid kit.

Once he had bandaged his wrists, eaten an energy bar, and taken some painkillers for his headache, he could think a bit more clearly, although he still didn't have a clue what he was going to do next.

Rummaging absently through what else was left in the pack, he smiled just a little as his fingers latched onto a familiar fluffy tail.

The toy was much smaller in his hands now than it had once been, but Sasuke still found it rather comforting. "It's just you and me now I guess, Risu-tan."

Risu-tan stared back at him with blank button eyes, and Sasuke mentally scolded himself for his foolishness. The stuffed squirrel was nothing but a stupid toy, after all.

He wondered how far away Team 7 must be now, and what Kakashi had told them.

**oooooo**

Naruto and Sakura stood up as Kakashi returned, looking up at him worriedly when they saw that he was alone.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began with a forced-sounding hopeful tone, "where's Sasuke?"

Sakura nodded. "What happened to Sasuke-kun?" she asked waveringly.

"I'm sorry," Kakashi said, and he could see the hope vanish from their eyes as soon as the trite phrase left his lips. "I couldn't get to him in time—there was an explosion—all I could find was this."

Naruto and Sakura stared at the now-tattered headband, gaze riveted to the blood staining the cloth and metal.

"Sasuke is dead," Kakashi whispered.

Naruto dropped to his knees in the snow and sobbed.

END PART ONE

[A/N: Sorry for how long this took! It takes me forever to psych myself up for a scene involving physical violence (fight scenes I can do, fatalities not so much) so I finally just put on some and went for it. After this come 3 or 4 interludes and then Part II. It might be a while before Part II starts, since I need to adjust the outline to work with the changes that happened as I was writing Part I. (Neji's part is going to be expanded, for one thing, and the whole thing used to be a lot sillier, which won't work with how Part I turned out.)]


	35. Interlude I

Interlude I:

With no body recovered, there was no funeral held for Sasuke, only a small memorial service. It was sparsely attended; during the brief time Sasuke had been in Konoha he had mostly kept to himself, and those who had not been following the Chuunin exams took little notice of him.

The current class of Konoha genin made up most of the attending group. Neji and his team were there as well, in the back of the room—Neji looked very uncomfortable and it was clear that he hadn't wanted to come at all.

Kakashi could concur. He hadn't dared to speak to Iruka since Team 7 (short one) had returned to Konoha. He was sure that the chuunin would blame him for Sasuke's 'death', and even though that blame was utterly deserved, if he had to deal with it right now he might say something incriminating.

By this time, Sasuke might not even be still alive, for all Kakashi's efforts. Considering the territory Kakashi had abandoned him in, he had maybe a thirty percent chance of survival. That was better than a one hundred percent chance of being dead, but still enough to make Kakashi feel horribly responsible.

Hinata, Kiba and Shino were in the front row. Hinata had obviously been crying, but Kiba just looked rather bewildered. Even Shino looked less stoic than usual.

The day of the memorial service was unsuitably sunny, Kakashi thought as everyone left afterwards. It should have been raining.

Naruto had stopped crying long before they got back to Konoha, but Sakura had only just begun. "I don't understand," she sniffled. "Why did Sasuke-kun have to die? It isn't_ fair!_"

"No, it isn't," Kakashi said quietly. "Nothing's ever fair, for a shinobi."


	36. Interlude II

Interlude II:

One month later...

Itachi hadn't intended to go back to Fire Country, but there had been a sudden change of plans in the smuggling drop-off mission he had taken, resulting in the drop being in a small town just inside the border. That was still leagues away from Konoha, so it couldn't cause any harm as far as Sasuke was concerned.

The drop went off without a hitch, and Itachi decided to celebrate by getting some proper food for once. Without Sasuke to take care of, and therefore remind him that he needed to take care of himself, his quality of life had gone down somewhat.

He was headed for a small ramen stand and smiling a little to himself as he thought of how Sasuke would have complained when he caught sight of a newspaper lying beside a bench, ruffling a little in the wind. Itachi hadn't seen a Fire Country newspaper in years so he picked it up, mostly in curiosity to see how much the format had changed.

It was an official Konoha paper, probably tossed aside by some ninja in a hurry. That was against protocol; the Konoha Gazette was never supposed to be discarded in readable condition anywhere outside the village. Still, it wasn't like Itachi cared much for protocol at the moment, so he read it anyway.

The Konoha Gazette hadn't changed much at all: a lot of the names were different, but most of the columns were the same. Even the obituaries were in the same format, he noticed just before the paper fell from his suddenly shaking hands.

It couldn't be true, it _couldn't_, he told himself frantically as he dropped to his knees and smoothed the paper out. But it could, it seemed, because that was definitely a photograph of Sasuke (cheerful, enthusiastic, oh-so-_alive_) with the all-too-familiar black border around it.

Uchiha Sasuke, aged 13. Killed during a mission.

The rest of it said something about bandits after the Sharingan, but Itachi neither paid attention nor believed it. He knew how good Kakashi was—Sasuke would never have died during Kakashi's watch were it not by Kakashi's hand. Danzou had wanted the presumed Last Uchiha dead, and Kakashi the former Root agent made sure it happened.

Why had he been stupid enough to leave his precious little brother there? He should have been able to see that something like this would happen, but he had been too focused on keeping Sasuke away from Orochimaru.

"It's my fault," he whispered as blood began to seep from his burning eyes. "It's my fault—I never should have left him..."

...

He had been faithful to Konoha and done their dirty work, and been rewarded by their slaughter of his family. Now they had taken the last thing he had valued, and it was _enough_. They could pretend to be better than the other villages if they liked, but they had proven otherwise (and oh! how thoroughly). His last act of duty to Konoha would be to end it, and then himself—forever.

It only took him a few weeks to locate Orochimaru's base in Sound. Orochimaru looked surprised to see him, but Itachi knew it was an act, not that he cared. "My, my, whatever could you be here for, Itachi-kun?" the Snake Sannin purred.

"Power," Itachi answered coldly.

[A/N: This isn't going to go well, now is it? My personal opinion is that if Sasuke was killed Itachi would completely lose it, especially in this adaptation where he is more attached to Sasuke and less loyal to the village. The combination of the Mangekyou and Orochimaru's curse seal are also certainly mucking with his head.]


	37. Interlude III

[A/N: I don't want to write a whole story detailing what happened with Kakashi and Root, so I'll just explain here. After the deaths of Obito and Rin, Kakashi was partially inducted into Root—he wasn't subjected to much emotional trauma besides what he had already been through, but he did a lot of very nasty jobs for them before finally rebelling and ending up in ANBU sometime around the Kyuubi attack. Very few people know about it (Itachi wasn't supposed to know and Kakashi doesn't know he knows) and he is very keen on keeping it that way. Kakashi's stint in Root being revealed might be part of what Danzou is threatening him with, because he thinks a lot of the villagers won't trust him anymore if it becomes general knowledge. This is only for Turning Points backstory; none of my other fics use this.]

Interlude III:

_Six months later..._

Sasuke sighed as he looked down at the grubby surface of the table he was seated at. The ramen place had been in better shape, but..._ramen_. Even if he didn't mind the taste, he wouldn't want it anyway because of all the memories it would bring back. Besides, this place wasn't as busy; it was deserted except for him at the moment.

He had managed at least passably since Iron Country—his situation wasn't good, but he had survived which was what counted. After getting off the mountain, he had tried to find Itachi under any the false names he could remember, even the female ones, but his brother seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. Sasuke doubted he was dead (this was _Itachi_, after all) but would soon have to admit it was a possibility.

The late Mio and Gentaro had actually had a lot of money in their packs, which Sasuke had taken advantage of as well as everything else of theirs that had looked useful (he did feel guilty about this, but it wasn't as if they could have made any more use of it). However, the money was almost gone now and soon he would have to try to find employment as a missing-nin.

That was going to be difficult. When he and Itachi had been travelling together, Itachi had been very secretive about where he got his jobs from and what sort of jobs they were, so Sasuke had very little knowledge of how the process worked. Still, he was reasonably sure he could work something out, as long as no one recognized him. He had been very cautious in that regard, staying away from anywhere Konoha shinobi often travelled to and staying out of sight of everyone except when necessary. Right now he was masking his chakra to civilian levels and wearing a bulky hooded jacket that hid his face almost entirely as well as disguising his general build.

The single waitress finally made her way over to him. "Order?" she asked curtly. Clearly, she wasn't being paid any extra for courtesy.

"The yakisoba," Sasuke replied. The waitress wrote this down and then walked off without so much as a nod. Sasuke settled down to wait.

While he was waiting, the door opened and two other people came in. Sasuke looked them both over from beneath his hood but took care not to look too interested—he didn't want to attract attention.

They only looked to be a few years older than Sasuke, to his surprise. He didn't have time to notice much else besides that one was blond and the other a redhead before he realized that they were heading for his table.

Sasuke frowned, tilting his head so his face was even more shadowed as they approached. He had hoped they would merely pass by, but they stopped right next to his table.

"We've been looking for you," the redhead said quietly as he and his companion sat down on the bench across from Sasuke.

"You must have me mistaken for someone else..." Sasuke said, trying to sound calm.

"Oh, I don't think so..._Uchiha Sasuke,_" the redhead replied, leaning forward to whisper the name.

Sasuke couldn't keep himself from stiffening in surprise, and decided not to keep up the pretense. "How did you—?"

"We're just awesome that way," the blond said blithely.

"Well, not exactly," the redhead said, "but we have been keeping an eye on you for some time."

"Have you," Sasuke said, judging how far it was to the door. If it came down to that, he stood a good chance of getting out of the building before they could catch him.

The redhead nodded. "You're looking for your brother, aren't you? We thought we could help...in exchange for a few favors. Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves, have we? This is Deidara, and I am Sasori. We're with the Akatsuki."

[A/N: Someone must have seen this coming...This is the last interlude, by the way, and the beginning of Part II will take a while since I have to go over the source material again.]


	38. Part II, Chapter 1: Routine

[A/N: Fiddled with the outline a bit, and now I don't need the source material until after the first several chapters, so I'm starting Part II early.]

PART II

Chapter 1: Routine

_Three years later..._

Sasuke stirred drowsily, opening his eyes as the morning sun hit his face. The bright sunlight only served to accentuate the dinginess of the hotel room he was in—despite the fact that they could well afford better, orders were that Akatsuki members had to keep a low profile.

Sasori was nowhere in sight when Sasuke sat up. The puppet master was very secretive and kept odd hours, so even though they were supposed to be traveling together Sasuke could go for days and hardly even see him. They were supposed to get a mission today (the reason why they were in this particular town), so he had better at least be close by.

Deidara was in the other bed, and hadn't moved an inch. Not about to let Deidara keep sleeping while he was awake, Sasuke tossed one of the pillows at him. Grumbling sleepily, Deidara pulled the covers over his head. Sasuke knew that if he threw anything sharp there would be lots of extra fees to pay and he didn't want to be the one to explain that to Kakuzu. Instead, he used the very thick and heavy treatise on seals that Sasori had found at a used bookstore in the last town they stopped in.

That got immediate results. Deidara flung himself off the bed, landing in a battle-ready crouch and beginning to produce a clay bird before apparently recognizing his surroundings. "Did you have to do that?" he grumbled, bundling the blanket up so he wouldn't trip over it as he gathered up his things.

Sasuke shrugged, knowing there wasn't any answer to that that wouldn't start an argument. He didn't really dislike Deidara, but Deidara was like Naruto with more crazy and less shutting up, which made him difficult to tolerate. Besides this, Deidara resented being lumped in with Sasuke by the other members since he was _three _years older (he was very insistent on this point). Things could get volatile very quickly if the two of them were left together; literally, since Deidara was an explosives nut and Sasuke had been honing a variety of flame techniques.

When Sasuke had originally joined Akatsuki a few years ago, he and Deidara had been placed in a team together (the intention being give the two youngest members easier jobs) but that hadn't ended well, to say the least. That was why Sasori usually travelled with them.

During his time in Akatsuki, Sasuke had continued looking for Itachi when he had time between missions. With the help of the Leader, he had found a few clues, but these had never led anywhere. It was quite clear that his brother was not interested in being found, which was quite disturbing. He didn't know what Itachi might do if he thought Sasuke was dead—Sasuke feared he might even kill himself. At least for now it seemed he was alive, but Sasuke didn't know how long that would last.

"So, what's on the schedule for today?" Deidara asked once they were both dressed. "Anything interesting? And for the record, 'reconnoitering' is _not _interesting, un."

"Sasori was supposed to receive orders today, but he's not around right now," Sasuke said, ignoring Deidara's clear attempt to start an argument and taking a scroll out of his pack to study. His genjutsu and ninjutsu skills had increased astronomically, but he still researched diligently. If Itachi was hiding from something, Sasuke would have to become even stronger than him in order to defeat it.

Not having anything constructive to do, Deidara began pacing restlessly around the room, muttering sulkily about 'Sasori-no-Danna wandering off all the time'.

Sasuke quickly tuned him out, putting the scroll away in favor of packing. That didn't take very long—they were travelling light, as they almost always did. Putting the pack on his bed (which was neatly made, unlike Deidara's), Sasuke walked over to the window. There was little of interest in the bare street outside, and he soon found himself idly inspecting his reflection in the glass.

Sasuke hadn't changed that much, outwardly at least, since his time in Konoha that had ended so disastrously. He had grown quite a bit—he was even a tiny bit taller than Deidara was, which just made one more thing that the older teen had to hold against him. Although he had grown his hair out a little, he still kept in in a similar style to how it had been back then, with the vague notion that he wanted Itachi to be able to recognize him if (no, _when_) they ran into each other again. He was getting awfully pale, though, Sasuke noticed. The Leader had been very insistent that Sasuke's identity not be revealed, which meant that he either kept out of sight or hid his face, both options leading to him not getting a lot of sun.

Deidara was now in the kitchen, and Sasuke could hear a completely unnecessary amount of noise as the other boy prepared to cook. "Sasuke, you want anything?" Deidara called after a moment. "I'm making ramen!"

"Then no, I don't want anything," Sasuke shot back curtly. Deidara knew very well Sasuke's issues with ramen, but instead of leaving well enough alone he had taken this as an invitation to confront Sasuke with the stuff at every opportunity. "In what reality is ramen a breakfast food, anyway?"

"This one, duh," Deidara replied. His voice was somewhat muffled, as if he was looking in a cabinet. Sasuke couldn't make out all of what Deidara said next due to this, but he did catch 'some people just don't appreciate good food, un,' and 'I mean, what's the big fuss over a bunch of noodles, anyway.'

Luckily for their security deposit, Sasori arrived before either of them could get really upset. "What's going on here?" he demanded, surveying the scene in the kitchen.

Sasuke promptly deactivated the Sharingan, and Deidara hid the clay bomb he had been holding behind his back. "Nothing, un!" he proclaimed, completely unconvincingly. "I was...just about to start the stove!"

Sasori raised his eyebrows. "I believe we've discussed this before," he pointed out.

"Oh, right...explosives and household appliances do not go together," Deidara recited. Sasuke smirked; he had heard this lecture a myriad of times over the last three years, with a myriad of things substituted for 'household appliances'. "But that's so _boring_, un!" Deidara protested.

"Yes, well, fell free to blow yourself to bits on your own time," Sasori rejoined. "For now, though, we have other things to do." He gestured with a message scroll he was holding. "Our orders just came in."

Still annoyed at Sasori's intrusion, Deidara pretended not to be interested and turned away with a huff. This happened a lot, so Sasori ignored Deidara's sulking and rolled the scroll out on the wobbly kitchen table. "Oh, you'll like this one, Sasuke," he remarked after a moment.

Sasuke, who had started looking for something to eat that wasn't ramen, closed the refrigerator and looked over. "And why is that?" he inquired blandly.

"We're going to Konoha."

"What's your big problem with Konoha, anyway?" Deidara demanded a few days later. "You've been dawdling at the back for the whole way, un!"

Sasuke glared at him, his irises briefly splitting into the red-and-black of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Deidara quickly backed down. "I was just _asking_," he said in an aggrieved tone. "You didn't have to get all uptight about it."

Sasuke didn't reply. As far as he was concerned, the past was his own business and he wasn't going to tell Deidara (or Sasori, for that matter) anything they couldn't ferret out for themselves. He was pretty sure they must know some of it; Akatsuki had to have been keeping tabs on him in order to find him so quickly after Kakashi had ditched him in a freezing cave in Iron Country. Still, if Deidara hadn't been privy to that information, Sasuke didn't see any reason to go out of his way to provide it.

Speeding up his pace a little, Sasuke tried to make it look a little less like he was hanging back, even though he was in no hurry to reach Konoha. It would be at least another few days before they got there, but Sasuke could already feel himself getting tense.

The mission they were going on wasn't improving matters, either. Apparently, the Leader was curious about Naruto for some reason, and thus was sending them to break into the Konoha archives and retrieve any pertinent information. Sasuke didn't see why Naruto, of all people, would have attracted the Leader's interest—Naruto had a lot of power, but not much in the way of finesse. Be that as it may, Naruto might be in danger if the Akatsuki started really paying attention to him, and even though he and Sasuke were in completely different worlds now Sasuke didn't like the thought of the exuberant blond coming to any harm. That was why he hadn't put up much actual protest when Sasori described the mission: he wanted a chance to get to the files before either of his colleagues could see them. That way, if there was something actually out of the ordinary about Naruto (besides the fact that he could down more than a dozen bowls of ramen at a sitting) Sasuke might be able to doctor any incriminating documents.

Fire Country hadn't changed at all from the last time Sasuke had travelled through it three years before. The trees were green and inviting, and the air was fresh and clear. Sasuke smiled a little, beginning to feel pleasantly nostalgic in spite of himself.

Sasori and Deidara didn't look so pleased with the environment, but this was unsurprising. Sasori had grown up in the arid desert of Wind Country, where you were lucky if you saw a scrubby little bush once in a while, and Deidara hailed from Earth Country, which (although better off in terms of flora than Wind Country) was still very bare compared to Fire Country's extensive tree cover. Deidara in particular was beginning to look a little claustrophobic: he much preferred open space for his explosive techniques.

"How much farther is it?" Deidara whined after another couple of hours. "Why can't we fly?"

"We have to be discreet," Sasori reminded him rather impatiently.

Sasuke was actually quite relieved that Deidara hadn't been permitted to make a bird and fly them this time. The feeling of being up in the air was quite exhilarating, and if it was just that he wouldn't mind. However, Deidara's steering skills left much to be desired, and he was the only one who could control his creations.

They camped out that night in a small copse surrounded by tangled shrubs. Sasuke wove several layers of genjutsu around their campsite: some to keep anyone who actually looked from seeing anything, and some to make the area appear less interesting than it actually was. After a final genjutsu intended to disguise the fact that there actually was genjutsu in use, he surveyed his work in satisfaction. Only someone with a Sharingan or Byakugan would be able to see through it, and that with difficulty, especially since they would have to resist the distraction element first.

By tomorrow they would be within the radius of the regular Konoha patrols. Sasuke didn't like the thought of encountering any Konoha shinobi, even those he didn't know—he had spent so long avoiding Konoha and anything connected with it that deliberately going there just felt wrong now. He was much stronger than he had been three years ago, but he still couldn't quite convince himself he had nothing to fear. Kakashi's sudden and inexplicable betrayal was still affecting him even now, it seemed.

The next two days passed far too quickly for Sasuke's liking. All too soon, he found himself atop a thoroughly genjutsu-covered hill looking down at the place that he had already been driven away from twice.

Still, he wasn't about to let the other two to see his apprehension, so he turned to them with a confident smirk. "Welcome to Konoha," he announced, gesturing toward the village below.

[A/N: In this timeline, since Itachi wasn't in the Akatsuki before, Deidara hasn't been in Akatsuki much longer than Sasuke so they're both 'junior members' as it were. Also, in this story I'm not using the psycho-evil-Sasori characterization of _Cruel World_ but something closer to the more mentor-ish characterization like in _In Which Deidara_...if that means anything to anybody.

Well, I hope everyone liked this chapter. Part II, Chapter 2: "The Uzumaki Files" will be posted on Thursday.]


	39. Part II, Chapter 2: The Uzumaki Files

Chapter 2: The Uzumaki Files

Getting into Konoha's secret archives was going to be a tricky bit of business. Despite the fact that it was still daylight, entering the city wasn't really an issue—with Sasuke's genjutsu concealing their movements they could descend the face of the Hokage mountain without being detected, as long as they didn't use any chakra. The real problem was going to be finding the actual archives.

Sasuke knew what building they were in—when he had first been put on Team 7 with Naruto and Sakura, the three of them had gone to the library a few times to do research. While there, Sasuke had overheard some Chuunin discussing the archives, which were located in the same building but concealed by a plethora of wards and genjutsu. With the Sharingan, Sasuke was pretty sure he would be able to find the entrance, but only if he could figure out where to look. Konoha's library was a very big building.

"I'm going to wait outside the village," Sasori declared. "This isn't a job for three and you two are supposed to be working together, anyway."

"Right, so what's the plan, Sasuke?" Deidara asked. "You're the one who knows your way around here, un."

Sasuke shrugged. "The entrance to the secret archives is well concealed. I thought we would just start poking around the library and see if there's anything out of the ordinary."

"That's a _terrible_ plan!" Deidara retorted. "But then, I guess that's only to be expected since you're just a kid, un."

"Well, do you have a better plan?" Sasuke demanded, not about to tolerate Deidara's mockery due to his age.

"Yeah, I'd just start blowing things up until something gave. Way easier, un."

"Sasuke's plan is better," Sasori interjected helpfully.

"Nobody asked you, un!"

A couple of hours later, after the sun set and the library closed, Sasuke and Deidara left the warehouse district where they had been hiding out and headed towards the library. Sasuke's genjutsu hid them well enough that they didn't even bother discarding their Akatsuki cloaks.

The library itself was not difficult to break into; it was merely a matter of deactivating the wards on one of the windows without triggering the seal that would set off the alarm. With that done, the two Akatsuki members entered silently. Sasuke closed the window behind them and carefully reset the security devices; if it turned out that they didn't exit that way he didn't want to leave any evidence of their entry behind.

Thankfully, Deidara could be surprisingly quiet when there was need for it, so Sasuke didn't have anything to worry about on that score. However much the blond complained about the teammate he had been stuck with, Deidara wouldn't do anything to deliberately sabotage a mission.

The library was deserted—the chuunin librarians were skilled enough that their presence was not usually required after closing, and there was no guard although security patrols regularly passed the building. Thus, as long as Sasuke's genjutsu concealed their presence, he and Deidara could do pretty much whatever they liked inside the library as long as they were quiet about it.

Before they entered the building, Sasuke had estimated the approximate area of the interior. Now he studied the inside to see if it matched up; if the outside was bigger than the inside, that was evidence that there was a hidden room. So far, it seemed that the dimensions were nothing out of the ordinary, and the Sharingan didn't detect any hidden doors.

"Let's try the second story," Sasuke suggested in a whisper, waving to Deidara who had started browsing the bookshelves while Sasuke examined the area. "Leave the books," he added firmly as Deidara reached for what Sasuke recognized as a popular novel. Deidara pouted but turned away from the shelves, following Sasuke up the stairs.

The second story didn't have any dimensional anomalies either, but Sasuke carefully examined the walls all the same. He didn't want to admit in front of Deidara that he might be on the wrong track.

"You know," Deidara remarked after a little while, "I thought the library was taller than this, un. Maybe there's more than two stories?"

Sasuke stared at him for a moment, surprised, then headed for one of the shelving ladders so he could get a better look at the ceiling. He wasn't sure whether Deidara had been actually trying to offer assistance, or just making conversation, so he didn't say anything. If Deidara realized that Sasuke had needed his help, he would be insufferable about it.

To the untrained eye, the ceiling of the Konoha library's second story looked perfectly ordinary. However, when Sasuke used the Sharingan he could tell that there was an unusual amount of genjutsu coating it—the genjutsu's effects were probably why he hadn't thought to look there in the first place. The caster had been skilled enough that the genjutsu covered the area evenly instead of radiating from the place being hidden, but when Sasuke searched for hidden seals he hit on a spot that was practically covered with them, but a foot or so above where the ceiling was. Curious, Sasuke pushed at one of the panels that made up the ceiling. It shifted easily and he climbed to the top step of the shelving ladder in order to look through.

"Deidara, I've got it."

Above the ceiling was a small space for ventilation ducts, and above that Sasuke could see a second, heavily reinforced ceiling. And in that ceiling, there was a small trapdoor coated with seals.

"Now what, un?" Deidara asked from the base of the ladder.

Sasuke frowned. With the help of the ladder he could easily get underneath the trapdoor, but it was high enough that he couldn't reach, even from the top step. Testing the frame that held the first ceiling's panels, he decided it would hold his weight. The panels definitely wouldn't, so he would have to be careful. "You stay with the ladder," he said finally. "If both of us go that just makes it twice as likely someone puts a foot through the ceiling. I shouldn't be long."

Deidara looked a little put out that he didn't get anything to do, but obediently sat down on the bottom of the ladder. "Fine then."

Carefully bracing himself in the opening he had made, Sasuke boosted himself into the crawlspace. It was a tight fit, and if it weren't for the fact that Sasuke was the genjutsu expert he would have gone back and let the slightly smaller Deidara do it. Luckily, it was only a few feet to get to the trapdoor, and Sasuke edged his way painstakingly across the framework until he could get at the seals.

The seals coating the edge of the trapdoor were completely fastened down, Sasuke noted with some annoyance. That made them much harder to deal with and he would probably have to remove them entirely, ruining a lot of the hard work he'd done to make this visit undetected. A closer examination revealed that the situation was not quite that bad; most of the seals were standard enough that he could replace almost all of them with the collection he had brought just in case. There were one or two specialty seals he couldn't restore, but he could make dummy seals that would at least make it look like everything was there.

With that decided, Sasuke took out a kunai and started cutting around the trapdoor, deactivating the seals as he went and making sure there was nothing left of the ones he would have to replace. This took longer than he had hoped, and he was getting a bit of a cramp from the uncomfortable crouch he was in by the time he finished. Finally, he collected the last scrap of the last security seal. "And about time," he muttered as he pulled the trapdoor down.

The trapdoor had steps in it, thankfully, and Sasuke quickly climbed into the hidden room beyond, pausing to stretch now that he once again had room enough to stand up. Konoha's high-security secret archives appeared to be much better organized than he had expected: there was a row of file cabinets along one wall that actually had neat alphabetical labels on each drawer. This was a bit offset by the haphazard collection of scrolls that was taking over the rest of the room, but Sasuke wasn't here for scrolls.

Clearing a path to the file cabinets and taking care not to damage anything, Sasuke quickly scanned the labels to see where Naruto's file would be. He still didn't see why there would be an ultra-secret file on someone like Naruto, but the Leader had said there would be so there probably was.

Pulling out the second 'U' drawer, Sasuke began scanning the files. Somewhat to his surprise, there actually was a file on Uzumaki Naruto, and not an insubstantial one at that. Sasuke quickly took a storage scroll from his cloak pocket to transfer the file into; loose pages flying about would certainly cause a problem if they had to get out in a hurry.

He was about to close the drawer again when he caught sight of another folder towards the back: it was older than Naruto's folder and the ink of the label was faded, although Sasuke could still clearly read that it said 'Uchiha'. Intrigued, Sasuke started to reach for the file, then hesitated. Did he really want to know what secrets his former family had been hiding?

Suddenly, Sasuke could hear a flurry of movement down below, but the heavy genjutsu layers prevented him from figuring out much more than that from chakra signatures. Making a split-second decision, he pulled the Uchiha file out and transferred it into the storage scroll along with the other one before returning the scroll to his cloak.

Despite the fact that he really wanted to know what was going on with Deidara, Sasuke didn't allow himself to rush as he rearranged the archives room so it looked exactly as it had before he entered. Dropping silently back down into the crawlspace, he pushed the trapdoor back up and carefully began to replace the seals. Even if they had been discovered, all was not lost if they did things right; one witness was easily eliminated, but a poor job of covering their tracks would ruin all that.

Re-sealing the trapdoor didn't take nearly as long as removing the seals in the first place, and soon Sasuke was able to make his way back to the original opening and look down into the library.

Deidara was currently lying the floor in front of one of the bookcases, wincing as he started to pick himself up. With strict orders not to attract attention, the explosives expert was extremely limited and Sasuke could tell he was getting the worst of it. Looking around the rest of the room, Sasuke froze in shock as he realized who his teammate's assailant was.

[A/N: Ooo, cliffie! I'm hoping to put up Chapter 3: 'Payback' on Monday, but I'm kind of sick and haven't been able to finish it yet.]


	40. Part II, Chapter 3: Payback

[A/N: Sorry this took so long. Yet again I had to gear myself up for an intense chapter, and I've been busy with school so that took quite a while. (Also, trigger warning for school violence, if anyone thinks that might be a problem)]

Chapter 3: Payback

"So," Kakashi remarked calmly, still apparently unaware that Sasuke was watching from directly above him, "what are you doing here? I'm pretty sure you didn't break in to get the next edition of Icha Icha like I did."

"No, I'm more into the classics, un," Deidara replied, matching Kakashi's flippant tone. "What kind of a library is this, anyway—it doesn't even have the Tale of the Heike." Sasuke was certain Deidara knew he was there, but the other teen showed an exemplary amount of self-control and did not allow himself to look in Sasuke's direction, which would have immediately given his presence away.

Sasuke knew he should do something, but he couldn't quite make himself move. He had been somewhat prepared in case they were discovered, but he had never expected Kakashi of all people to walk in on them.

The shelving ladder was gone from below the opening in the ceiling panels; it was now lying on its side in front of the reference desk. Kakashi was still looking the other direction and Sasuke decided now was the best time to make a move. Taking a deep breath, he jumped down, landing on the library floor and looking up just in time to make eye contact with Kakashi.

_'Tsukuyomi.'_

By this point, Sasuke had been able to research and practice his Mangekyou abilities, so this time he knew exactly what his former teacher was going through. He had even personally tailored it—the intensity made him feel a little guilty, but only just a little when he remembered what Kakashi had done three years ago.

Kakashi had frozen in place as soon as the genjutsu hit him, and now Deidara stood up and walked over. "Now what, un?" he whispered, although Sasuke knew Kakashi was no longer aware of anything going on around him.

"Now we clean this place up and get out of here," Sasuke replied as Kakashi suddenly dropped to his knees. Kakashi's visible eye was unnaturally wide and unfocused, and he was gasping raggedly for breath.

"Should we...?" Deidara queried, nodding towards the trembling Kakashi and making a quick slashing movement.

Sasuke shook his head. "He won't be released from the genjutsu until well after we're gone, and I don't think he'll remember enough to make _that_ worthwhile. High ranking shinobi have mental breakdowns all the time—leaving a body would only cause a more intensive investigation."

Righting the shelving ladder, Sasuke quickly replaced the removed ceiling panel as Deidara reshelved the books that had been knocked down during his scuffle with Kakashi.

Sasuke's reasons for not permitting Deidara to kill Kakashi were not only practical. He still held some small affection for his mentor, though he didn't like admitting it even to himself. That affection did not prevent him taking pleasure in paying Kakashi back for leaving him to die of exposure in Iron Country, but he couldn't quite bring himself to kill the jounin outright—nor did he want to force the bereavement that would cause on Naruto and Sakura.

The two Akatsuki were out of the building and partway down the street by the time Kakashi started screaming. "What did you _do_ to him, Sasuke?" Deidara asked, glancing trepidatiously back at the building.

Sasuke allowed himself a small, cold smile, not that it showed in the dim light. "What's he doing to himself, more like."

Kakashi's next few eternities (for that was what it felt like) were utter hell. He had a vague idea that this wasn't the way things were supposed to go, maybe this wasn't real, but the experience was realistic enough that he was soon too focused on doing something, anything to make it stop to think about anything trivial like reality.

He didn't realize what was happening at first—the sudden transition from the ill-lit library to a sunlit street outside the academy disoriented him. Even to a trained eye, the scenery was realistic enough that it was nigh-impossible to tell which had been genjutsu and which reality.

There was a civilian woman walking down the street in the other direction. Kakashi didn't have any reason to pay attention to her until she was just about to pass him.

The Academy was quiet at the moment, but it would be recess in about a half an hour. Kakashi was well aware of the tumult that would occur at that point, although he had always kept to himself during his time in the Academy—which had been very brief, anyway, since he had graduated so early. The way Kakashi had turned out was partial reason for the currently higher graduation age; Uchiha Itachi made up most of the rest.

The woman was much closer now, and Kakashi noticed that she had brown hair done up in buns and a blue dress with lace around the collar. Kakashi recalled who she was—the mother of Gai's student Tenten—at about the same time he realized he was holding a readied spread of kunai.

Although he registered the movement, Kakashi was too late to stop himself. The woman stared at him bewilderedly for a few seconds, one hand pressing futilely against the spreading red stain on her midriff, before she slumped slowly to the ground. Kakashi could tell that she was dead as he bent to retrieve his kunai from her body.

By this point Kakashi was inwardly panicking—his body was moving on its own and forcing him to do things he would never admit to dreaming in his most terrible nightmares. Worse, the next closest place was the Ninja Academy.

There was only one chuunin guard at the gate of the school, and Kakashi could have easily walked past him with no questions being asked. Kakashi hoped that the man would follow protocol for once and challenge him, but there was no such luck.

Casually sliding a kunai into his left hand, Kakashi silently stabbed the man in the chest as he walked past and entered the Academy grounds.

There was no one in the office, the secretaries having probably already left to get their own lunch. Kakashi left a few explosive tags under the desk just to be thorough before heading on toward the classrooms.

The first two classrooms were empty because of renovations, but Kakashi knew whose classroom was next. Straining himself to the utmost, he tried to keep himself from opening the door, but was only able to slow himself slightly. This must be what it was like to be on the receiving end of the Naras' Shadow Bind, he decided as he took hold of the latch and pushed the door open—trapped in one's own body and forced to turn against one's friends.

Iruka looked up from his desk when Kakashi opened the door, and started to walk over when he recognized his visitor. "Kakashi-san?" the teacher said curiously. "What are you doing here at this hour—is there something I can do for you?"

Despite being taken completely by surprise, the chuunin managed to duck the spread of shuriken Kakashi flung at him, then two more spreads of kunai. This enabled him to get close enough to force Kakashi into close-quarters fighting, and Kakashi almost began to hope that Iruka would be able to stop him.

However, this was not to be the case. Iruka had a few openings which he could have used to take down Kakashi, but it was clear that he couldn't bring himself to use fatal force. That proved to be his undoing.

"I'm so sorry," Kakashi murmured, gently catching the teacher and lowering his body to the ground. Side-stepping the pool of blood, Kakashi pulled out another spread of kunai and surveyed the rest of the classroom.

After that, things fell into the bloody haze he was used to utilizing during ethically-nebulous ANBU and Root missions. He still could tell what he was doing and was still unable to stop it, but the disassociation helped somewhat. But what was he going to do after all this was over?

He was fairly sure that it had been an hour or two since the beginning of this rampage (there really wasn't a better word for it) when he ended up in the vicinity of Naruto's apartment. The sudden appearance of his other two students pulled him back into full realization of his surroundings.

Naruto stared at Kakashi in confusion, his eyes widening as he noticed the numerous bloodstains on the Jounin's clothing. "What's going on, Sensei?" he asked bewilderedly, starting to back up as Kakashi formed the seals for Chidori. Sakura pulled out a spread of shuriken, but was too shaken to throw them properly and Kakashi dodged them easily before beginning his run with the Chidori.

Naruto didn't have time to duck, not that he would even have thought of doing so considering the unexpected situation. Still trying to protect her teammate, Sakura pushed Naruto away and took the Chidori herself.

Seeing Sakura fall lifelessly to the ground with a gaping hole where her heart had been galvanized Naruto into action. Since Kakashi had trained him and therefore knew all his combat habits, Naruto's earnest attempts at defense did him no more good than any of Kakashi's previous victims. After only about a half-minute, Naruto staggered back, trying uselessly to stem the bleeding from the wound in his chest before falling across Sakura's body.

With that, Kakashi felt his body released as he looked down at the unfortunate pair, struggling to catch his breath. How many people had died in this madness, he wondered. Certainly less than the number he had killed over his career as a shinobi, but enough that he could never live with himself again.

Taking out his last kunai, Kakashi put it against his own throat.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, I think he's waking up!"

"It's certainly about time, I must say..."

Kakashi blinked fuzzily, trying to figure out why he was in the hospital until the memories of what had happened slammed into him. Bolting upright, he flung the covers back and pushed himself off the bed, taking several steps across the room before his vision swam and he had to lean against the wall to remain upright.

Sakura looked at him worriedly, getting up from her chair by the bedside and beginning to walk towards him. Kakashi moved back as she approached, and she stopped after only a few steps. "Kakashi-sensei," she said gently from where she stood, "everything's fine. I don't know what you saw, but it was only a genjutsu."

Kakashi took a deep breath. "Genjutsu, you say?" he asked, looking her up and down and pleased to see that her ribcage was intact and her stylish pink blouse free from bloodstains. Naruto also was apparently alive and uninjured. "So, you two are all right, and...everyone else? Iruka?"

"He came by after school," Sakura reported. "He left a card, see?"

Sighing with relief, Kakashi let himself slide down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. "That's...good. That's very good."

"What happened, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, coming far too close as usual. Even after all the years Kakashi had been training him, he still didn't really comprehend the concept of 'personal space'. "You've been out almost a whole day."

Kakashi looked up at him, still a bit too overwhelmed with relief to reply. Now that he could see the lively sparkle in Naruto's blue eyes, he was beginning to fully realize that things were alright, after all.

"Do you know who attacked you, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, more to the point.

"The Akatsuki," Kakashi reported, picking himself up. "The Akatsuki were in Konoha."

[A/N: Sorry this took so long. School got really crazy and this chapter was pretty hard to write, as well. It's kind of difficult for me to put the characters through traumatic stuff like this.]


	41. Part II, Chapter 4: Recovery

Chapter 4: Recovery

On the way out of Konoha, speed was of the most import rather than stealth, and the Akatsuki trio used one of Deidara's birds to fly away. Sasuke perched on the tail of the massive clay animal, staring absently back at Konoha as the city slowly vanished from view.

It would probably be at least twenty-four hours before Kakashi came out of the genjutsu-induced coma, so even if he did remember anything after that amount of trauma, Sasuke and his compatriots didn't have anything to worry about until then. Sasuke was fairly sure that even if the jounin did remember that his attackers had been Akatsuki, he wouldn't recall Sasuke's presence—Kakashi had only had the briefest glimpse of him before the genjutsu hit.

_What would Kakashi do if he knew I was still alive?_ Sasuke wondered. _Would he come after me to finish what he started?_

Before he fully realized what he was doing, Sasuke had slipped one hand into the inside pocket of his coat, grabbing onto the scroll that contained the files stolen from Konoha's most secret archive. If there were any secrets concerning the fate of the Uchiha and why Sasuke's friends had turned against him, they would be in here. He would just have to make sure no one found out he had overstepped the bounds of the mission in taking the second file, because the Leader would be in no wise pleased to hear this information.

After only a short time more, the ninja village was completely out of sight and Sasuke turned his attention back to his travelling companions.

"Where to now, un?" Deidara was asking.

"Back to the Leader's center of operations to deliver what we picked up and receive details of our next mission," Sasori replied.

"Well that sounds boring," Deidara grumbled. "And what kind of a mission was that to send me on? I didn't even get to blow anything up, un!"

Sasori shrugged, by now long used to his charges' complaints. "Since this mission was in Konoha, Sasuke needed to come, and you're his teammate. I'm sure the Leader will have a mission soon that requires your areas of expertise," he added placatingly.

While Deidara seemed somewhat mollified by this, he was still sulking as he guided the bird down to a sheltered valley where they could rest before completing the return trip.

After Kakashi's initial statement that he had been attacked by the Akatsuki, there was a flurry of activity around him. Sakura, whose job as unofficial secondary assistant to the Hokage required her to be up-to-date on current events, immediately recognized the significance of this. She hurried off to set up an appointment with Tsunade, meanwhile trying to explain what was going on to Naruto, who wasn't nearly as well-informed and trailed along behind her asking insistent questions. Sakura had changed a lot over the past few years; she had become much more businesslike, withdrawing into her work and the hospital and pushing herself much more than was probably wise.

Kakashi hoped she would allow him a few more hours to rest before dragging him off to make a statement. While he hadn't taken any physical damage besides a few bruises from the scuffle with the Iwa missing-nin, the mental havoc he had been through had left him shaky and disoriented, with a splitting headache besides.

There was a knock on the door, and he sighed, running a hand through his hair and making sure his mask was situated properly. "Come in," he called, wondering who besides his students cared about him enough to come visit. Shikamaru would have come, Sakura had assured him, but his team was away on a mission and wasn't expected back yet.

To his surprise, it was Iruka who opened the door and stepped inside.

While Kakashi and Iruka had never been exactly close, their jobs as mentor and teacher, respectively, led to them having a fair amount of interaction. They had even begun to get rather familiar after Iruka's favorite (although he would never admit to favoritism) student Naruto was placed on Kakashi's team.

The Sasuke business had changed all that. After Sasuke's 'death', resulting from what Iruka had assumed was fatal neglect on Kakashi's part, the two had barely exchanged a civil sentence. Kakashi had never tried to repair the breach—he didn't want to let slip something that might land Iruka on Danzou's death list as well.

"What are you here for?" Kakashi asked warily. He had been surprised to even get a card from the teacher, although considering the fact that several other chuunin had sent blandly formulaic get-well cards, Iruka might have been just going with the flow.

"I ran into Sakura-chan in the lobby," Iruka said. He looked a bit nervous as well—it must have been years since the two of them had been in each other's presence for non-obligatory reasons. "She said you had asked after me, so I thought I would assure you that I am, in fact, quite fine, as you can see."

Kakashi nodded, silently looking Iruka over. The last time Kakashi had seen him, the teacher had been lying dead in a pool of his own blood, so it was more of a relief than Iruka knew to have him standing there alive and uninjured. "Thank you for coming," Kakashi said finally, not sure whether there was something else he should say.

"Sure..." Iruka replied, biting his bottom lip uncomfortably. "Well, I guess I will be going now, I have grading and—things. I suppose I'll...see you again some other time," he finished in a bit of a rush, before leaving hurriedly.

About ten minutes after Iruka left, there was another knock on the door, but this was one of those brisk knocks that was nothing more than a notification that the door was about to be opened. "Good afternoon, Kakashi-san," Shizune said as she entered the room. "Sakura's busy at the moment, so I'm supposed to check in on you. You look like you're doing better," she added, consulting the clipboard she was holding.

Shizune hadn't personally appeared the the genjutsu, but Kakashi had assumed her dead in the explosion that destroyed the Hokage tower. "Does the Hokage want to see me?" he asked, trying not to dwell on that too much.

Shizune nodded, flipping a page. "Are you feeling up to it?" she asked. "We can put it off until tomorrow if you think that's necessary."

"I think it's best if I make my report as soon as possible," Kakashi said. "The genjutsu I was under affected my recollection and I'm not sure how much I will remember if we wait."

Shizune hummed in acknowledgement and made a note. "I see. How about after dinner then?"

"That's fine," Kakashi replied.

"Very well, we'll see you then. Good-bye!" Shizune made a vague gesture of farewell with her clipboard and departed.

Until Shizune's mention of dinner, Kakashi hadn't realized how long it was that he had been unconscious. When he had surprised the intruders in the library, it had been about eleven at night, and now it was nearly five in the afternoon the next day. He promptly began to feel hungry, and eyed the door, wondering whether someone was going to bring him something to eat or whether he was supposed to drag himself down to the cafeteria.

Any health food Sakura okayed for him probably wouldn't be something he'd be terribly thrilled to eat, so Kakashi concluded that he would just have to make it to the cafeteria. Tossing the covers back, he stood up carefully. He felt much less shaky now than he had when he first woke up, and only briefly needed to steady himself with the bedrail. His uniform vest had been laid neatly over one of the chairs by the bed, and Kakashi straightened his shirt before putting the vest on and getting his sandals out from underneath the bed.

Even though he was pretty sure no one—except Sakura, who wasn't there at the moment—would dare to attempt to make the notorious Copy Ninja return to his hospital room, Kakashi looked up and down the corridor before leaving. There was no one around, so he casually put his hands in his pockets and headed for a nearby elevator.

The hospital cafeteria was busier than Kakashi had expected, but then he was rarely at the hospital and only at the oddest of hours. As he stepped out of the elevator, the noise struck him with near-tangible force, and he winced under the mask as his headache increased to searing levels in response. While he could return to his room and ring for someone to bring him a meal, that would be comparable to admitting defeat, so Kakashi pressed on.

He was just setting heavily-laden tray down on the most secluded table in the room when someone bounded boisterously up behind him. "And how are you, My Eternal Rival?" Gai exclaimed. "It is good to see you up and about again!"

"I'm fine," Kakashi replied once his ears had stopped ringing. "How are you?" he added once it was clear that the other jounin wasn't going to just go away after an exchange of greetings.

Indeed, Gai promptly sat down on the other side of the table. "I am well," he answered.

"And your team, how are they?" Kakashi asked, poking at his bowl of udon before deciding it was too hot and starting on the rice.

"Lee is progressing wonderfully as always," Gai gushed. "Tenten is also doing very well. Neji..." Gai let his voice trail off, shaking his head slightly.

Hyuuga Neji had, frankly, become rather worrisome recently. He had always been a little overeager for violence, as evidenced by his actions in the Chuunin Exams and later his continued tormenting of Sasuke, whom he hated for defeating him in front of the entire village. Sasuke's disappearance, instead of relieving the issue, had only made things worse by depriving Neji of the focus of his anger.

Although Neji had finally passed the Exam along with his teammates, his temper had been by no means moderated by the promotion. He had been signing on for more and more dangerous missions, seemingly dead-set on continued advancement through the shinobi ranks. Many of these missions had come to unnecessary bloody ends despite a non-fatal resolution being possible, leading to Neji gaining a fearsome but by no means respected reputation. His last mission—which had only been given to a team of chuunin because there had been no jounin team currently available—had ended in a humiliating disaster, a long hospital stay for all three, and Neji's disgrace among the Hyuuga clan. This, predictably, had not improved matters at all, and many in the village were just waiting for the inevitable snap.

Gai had tried to help, but these types of problems were hardly his area of expertise and Neji barely listened to him by this point. Despite the increasing danger Neji led them into, Lee and Tenten continued to accompany him—if he broke, they would be the first to pay the price.

Kakashi supposed he had been lucky, in a way. Despite the intrigue surrounding his students, at least they were all sane.


	42. Part II, Chapter 5: Breaking Silence

[A/N: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, but my computer was in repairs for a week and by that point I had managed to get sick again.]

Chapter 5: Breaking Silence

The conversation with Gai quickly fizzled out, and Kakashi finished his meal undisturbed before heading for the Hokage tower and his meeting with Tsunade. By this point it was dark out, and the chilly wind blowing over the city made Kakashi decide not to take to the rooftops, instead walking to his destination.

The Hokage tower was still somewhat busy, although most of the workers were wrapping up and getting ready to go home by this point. By the time Kakashi passed the first few floors, the corridors were almost empty. Kakashi took his time on the way up, running over what he remembered of the brief tangle with the Akatsuki agents before being put under the genjutsu.

At the door of the Hokage's office, he paused briefly before opening the door and entering.

"Oh, there you are, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura greeted him with slightly-strained cheer as he entered. "We were starting to wonder when you'd get here. Are you feeling better?"

"Sure, sure," Kakashi replied, waving lazily in her direction as he made his way over to the chair that someone had left in front of the Hokage's desk. "Good evening, Tsunade-dono," he added as the Hokage stood up.

"Good evening," Tsunade returned rather stiffly. "Sakura said you had some very important information and insisted that I hear everything as soon as possible. This had better be good," she added, crossing her arms, "because ordinarily I would be home eating dinner by now."

"I'll tell you everything in just a second," Kakashi began. "Is Jiraiya around?"

"He's travelling at the moment, and expected back any day now. Enough stalling: let's have it."

Kakashi couldn't really fault Tsunade for being a little put out, considering his long-running and carefully cultivated reputation of blowing off debriefings and reports. "Very well. Last night, I entered the library after closing—"

"Why?" Tsunade inquired.

"TogetthenextIchaIchabook," Kakashi explained hurriedly, disguising the statement with a couple of well-placed coughs. "It hadn't been shelved yet, and when I went to look in the office for it I heard movement upstairs. Since I knew all the librarians had already left, I went to see what was going on.

"When I reached the second story, I located one intruder in the history section and chose to engage him. As I approached, I recognized the Akatsuki cloak."

"At which point you should have called for backup," Tsunade pointed out.

"Considering the proximity between the intruder and the entrance to the Most Secret archives, I thought the first order of business would be to get him away from them, and then call for backup. However, the concentration of seals hiding the entrance to the archives prevented me from discovering the presence of the second intruder before he ambushed me and put me into a genjutsu, allowing the pair of them to escape."

"Would you like to describe the substance of the—"

"No," Kakashi interrupted firmly, abandoning his previous calm exactitude now that the main portion of his report was over. Tsunade looked a little taken aback at the shift, but didn't push—she had an exemplary understanding of stress and trauma, due to her medical work.

"Very well then, did you recognize either of the assailants?"

"One of them was a Deidara clan member, although I'd have to have a look at a bingo book to identify him exactly." The Deidara clan, notorious for its explosive experts, was very extensive; there could be dozens of Deidara missing-nin on the loose at any given time. "The other...was pale, dark-haired, and _probably_ male. That's all I've got on that. Any more questions?"

"Do you know whether they took anything from the archives?"

"Considering how long a time they had in there after I was put out of action, I'd say that's a given. As to what, I can't say, but the Akatsuki are believed to have designs on the Jinchuuriki, aren't they? That's where I would start if I were checking what was missing."

"So Naruto might be—" there was a knock on the door and Tsunade cut herself off. "Sakura, can you see who that is, please?"

Kakashi had almost forgotten Sakura's presence, and looked over to the chair by the wall where the girl was sitting. She had suddenly gone very pale, and didn't seem to have noticed Tsunade speaking to her.

Sasuke's 'death' had been a terrible blow to Sakura: she had no siblings, and all three boys who had been her teammates were like brothers to her. Hearing that yet another was in danger, being targeted by a notorious terrorist organization, must have been a shock.

"Sakura..." Tsunade repeated gently, frowning a little.

"I'll get the door," Kakashi said, getting up before Tsunade could say anything. "There's not really anything more I can tell you, anyway."

To Kakashi's surprise, the person he saw when he opened the door was exactly who they had just been discussing. "Naruto? What are you doing here this late?"

"I thought you were still in the hospital, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said, not seeming to have taken any notice of Kakashi's question. "Oh, hey, this is for you, Tsunade-baa-chan," he continued, walking over to the desk and handing her a scroll. "It's a letter-thingy from Suna, the people in decoding asked me to give it to you. But I really came to talk to Sakura—Hi Sakura!" Naruto chirped, bounding over to her chair. "How are you? You look really tired. You know what will fix that? Ramen! So let's go get some!"

"Huh? Oh, hi Naruto. Sure, ramen sounds good..." Sakura replied vaguely. Naruto was already dragging her out of her chair and towards the door.

Kakashi held the door open for them. "I'll join you," he announced, following them out and waving to the slightly frustrated-looking Tsunade before he closed the door.

Naruto, meanwhile, was still prattling away in an effort to cheer Sakura up—he had no idea that he was the reason for Sakura's latest worries. Ever since losing Sasuke in Iron Country, Naruto had seemed to remain his usual chipper self, although Kakashi had a strong feeling that a lot of it was put-on, probably in an effort to keep his friends from being sad. He'd even tried to see Hinata a few times, although he had continually failed to make it into the Hyuuga compound.

Smiling a little under his mask, Kakashi watched Naruto pulling Sakura (who was already looking a little more perky) in the direction of Ichiraku's ramen. He was a good kid—more people needed to realize that.

"You're so jumpy today, Sasuke! What's _with_ you, un?"

Sasuke didn't bother to reply, as he had already slammed the door of their shared room behind the quickly departing Deidara. Locking the door, he sighed and leaned against it for a moment before walking over to the bed.

After the Konoha mission, Sasuke had dutifully turned over the Naruto file to Sasori; he had enough time to glance at some of it, but hadn't worked his way back to the older stuff by the time Sasori wanted it. There were vague hints at things in the more recent papers, but everything pointed back to something about Naruto's birth or ancestry and Sasori had demanded it back before he could look there. Sasori had then shipped the file off to the Leader, which left the three of them with nothing to do, again. Currently, they were staying in yet another crummy hotel. This one was in River Country, but it was just about the same as the last apart from that.

The Uchiha file was still in the holding scroll, now residing in the bottom of Sasuke's pack. He still hadn't had a chance to look at it; Deidara just wouldn't leave him well enough alone, and Sasori was all too thorough a supervisor for Sasuke to feel safe doing so even when all by himself.

All in all, the tension of being so close to knowing was nearly driving Sasuke to distraction, which was why he had just thrown Deidara out. The older teen was probably within his rights to be upset, but Sasuke didn't exactly care—it wasn't like they were friends or anything.

Sighing, Sasuke pulled his pack onto the bed and started poking at the vaguely scroll-shaped lump in the bottom of it. He had a pretty large collection of scrolls, so one more wouldn't attract any suspicion, but it was still a little too obvious for his tastes. Time to repack.

Sasuke emptied the pack over his bed and started sorting through the contents. If he put some of his clothes in the bottom, they would hide the tell-tale scroll shape, and he did so before grabbing the scroll and starting to put it in.

Almost before Sasuke realized it, he had begun to untie the ribbons holding the scroll closed. He started to retie them, then paused. _Now's probably as good a time as any, _he thought._ If I try to ditch the others it will only make things look more suspicious._

This decided, Sasuke started putting up genjutsu around the room. Since he often practiced genjutsu, a little extra wouldn't attract too much notice—avoiding notice was the point of genjutsu anyway.

Once the room had been shielded with genjutsu to his satisfaction, Sasuke took a deep breath. Holding the scroll carefully, he began to unroll it, the paper rustling like soft whispers as it loosened.

_Now I'll finally know Itachi's secret..._

[A/N: It will take awhile for the next few chapters to be done because I need to watch the opening arc of Shippuuden and sort out how the next bit is going to go. I'm already watching some other shows I really like, but since I'm almost done with DNAngel I should be able to make room. Also, school is about to start up, which will probably slow things down.]


	43. Part II, Chapter 6: Old Acquaintance

Chapter 6: Old Acquaintance

The file Sasuke had taken from the Konoha archives was located a little ways into the storage scroll, so it took him a few seconds to unroll it far enough for access. He had laid the scroll neatly across the bed and was just about to release the seals when he heard someone pounding on the door, hard enough to rattle the dresser standing against the surrounding wall..

The amount of genjutsu fairly hanging in the air hampered Sasuke's perception of what was going on outside the room, but he could still make out what Deidara was saying.

"Hey, Sasuke! Sasori says if you don't open up he'll let me blow the door down, un—so don't open up, okay?"

Sasori never made idle threats and Deidara was very frustrated at not having been allowed to use explosives yet, so Sasuke hesitated only a split second before rolling the scroll back up, shoving it in his pack and dashing to open the door, nearly stumbling over his doffed Akatsuki cloak in his haste. He released the last of the heavy genjutsu as he turned the doorknob.

Deidara pouted as the door was opened. "Awww, Sasuke, what'd you have to go and open the door for? I was finally going to have some fun, un!"

"Yes, and that 'fun' would have involved blasting my room into the next city," Sasuke retorted, glaring at Deidara. "What are you bothering me for, anyway?"

He had been _so close!_ Even another minute and he would have been able to get at the secret files. Why did things have to turn out to prevent him yet again?

Only when Deidara began backing up nervously did Sasuke realize that he had activated the Mangekyou Sharingan. "Well, what do you want?" Sasuke demanded again, beginning to form the first few seals for a fireball that would cure Deidara of his snooping habits for some time if not permanently.

"Hey, wait a second!" Deidara protested. Sasuke had taken him by surprise and even with his explosive skill it would be difficult for him to retaliate in the tight quarters of the hall if Sasuke chose to use his Sharingan techniques. "Sasori told me to get you! If you've got a problem with that, take it up with him, un!"

"He's right," Sasori's calm, even voice interjected from behind Sasuke, making him jump. Their mentor was disturbingly good at silently appearing places where he wasn't expected, and currently he was far too close to some of Sasuke's secrets for comfort. "This is no time for a silly fight like this," Sasori continued in a gently chiding tone, stepping around Sasuke and interposing himself between the two. Despite the red-haired puppet expert's small stature, he was very powerful—Sasuke and Deidara both knew that it would be unwise to cross him, even if there was a chance that one of them might eventually win in a straight fight.

Sasuke sighed but abandoned his aggressive stance all the same, although he made no attempt to mask his killing intent as he released the chakra he had been gathering. Sasori raised one eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"So..." Deidara cut in, obviously attempting to turn Sasuke's attention to something else, "what's up, un?"

"This is nothing to discuss in the corridor," Sasori pointed out. "Shield your room, Sasuke, we'll talk in there."

"Very well," Sasuke replied, trying to appear as calm as possible; he couldn't afford to let them think he was hiding something in his room. "Just give me a minute to tidy up."

Once he had closed the door of the room behind him, Sasuke began putting up the initial shields required as he quickly straightened things out enough that it didn't look as if he had just been going through his things. The bag with the tell-tale scroll in it was shoved under the bed where it wouldn't be seen, and Sasuke laid the Akatsuki cloak neatly across the bed so that its hem just brushed the floor, hiding the bag still further. That done, Sasuke returned to the door, taking care to suppress any nervous modulations in his chakra that Sasori might pick up on.

"So what's going on, un?" Deidara asked impatiently once the room had been sealed to Sasori's satisfaction. This operation had taken some time, and Deidara was practically bouncing on the bed by this point. The beds in this cheap hotel were old and worn-down, and Sasuke gritted his teeth at the screeching sound of one particularly loud, rusty spring. Getting upset at Deidara now would only make it more likely that the blond would try to play a prank on him or something and find the scroll, so Sasuke held his annoyance in.

Sasuke hadn't given much thought yet as to what would happen if the Leader found out he had overstepped the bounds of a mission. With such a close call though, he was forced to give that possibility some consideration. With Sasuke being one of only two Uchiha available, the Leader probably wouldn't want to risk losing such a valuable bloodline limit by killing Sasuke for insubordination—unless he decided that the eyes were all that was required. If that turned out to be the case, Sasuke would be in real trouble.

"I have just received new orders from the Leader," Sasori announced finally, pacing back and forth in front of the curtains covering the single window of the hotel room. His footsteps were nearly inaudible, even on the wooden floor that Sasuke knew was conducive to reverberations. "This mission is much more important—_do_ stop that awful noise, Deidara." Sasori cut himself off with a meaningful stare in the blond's direction.

Although Sasori hadn't even raised his voice it was clear that he would not tolerate anything other than immediate compliance. Deidara pouted but stopped bouncing, instead sitting on the edge of the bed and swinging his feet back and forth. Sasuke had noticed that Deidara never did seem to be able to keep entirely still, yet another trait that served as a reminder of Naruto.

"As I was saying," Sasori continued once there was no more competition from the bedsprings, "This mission is much more important than any we have had in the past, which is why we are exercising more caution than usual. As you may or may not know, the Leader's aim for some time has been to gather the nine Tailed Beasts in order to use their power and create peace throughout the Shinobi Continent."

Sasuke knew this, or had at least guessed at it, although he still couldn't make the Leader's interest in Naruto fit in with this plan. The only thing that could have caused that would be if Naruto was the container of one of the tailed beasts, and that didn't really make any sense. Albeit powerful, Naruto was unskilled, and his tendency to do unpredictable, foolhardy things made him a poor candidate for being chosen to hold a secret weapon within himself. He didn't even have any family in the village to ensure his loyalty. Still, even if the Leader merely thought Naruto was a container and was mistaken, Naruto would be in terrible danger and Sasuke had no way to warn him without bringing the Leader's wrath down on himself.

"While a great deal of time has been spent with research and preparations," Sasori went on, "things have finally reached the point where this plan can be put into action. The three of us have been charged with acquiring the first of the nine containers. I have further information on the mission and a description of our target for the two of you," he added, taking two scrolls from an inner pocket of his cloak and tossing one to each of his charges. "Read up. We head out in the morning."

Normally, Sasuke would have left the assignment scroll until the last minute and merely memorized everything with the Sharingan, but from Sasori's firm stance in front of the window it was obvious that he wouldn't be going anywhere before Sasuke and Deidara had started reading. Besides, Sasuke was really curious about their mission this time.

Untying the red cord holding the scroll shut, Sasuke began unrolling it, mentally lamenting that he wasn't able to look at the much more interesting scroll currently residing under the bed he was sitting on. Then he saw the photograph of their target and was unable to stifle a surprised gasp as he saw the familiar red hair and dark-ringed green eyes.

"Someone you know?" Sasori asked immediately, stepping closer and leaning in to stare at Sasuke intently. "Will this be a problem?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I...ran into him in the Chuunin exams, that's all," he explained quickly. "Don't worry, attacking him won't be a problem—he hurt some of my friends very badly."

Sasori frowned slightly, although the slight shift of his mouth did not affect the rest of his oddly static face. "I wasn't aware you had any friends in Konoha," he stated quietly. "That didn't seem to affect you on your last mission."

"Back then, I thought they were friends," Sasuke explained. "I don't...they're not my friends now. I know better than that." Sasuke couldn't afford to have friends, not until he had Itachi again—other attachments would only get in his way, even someone he had played at sandcastles with back when they were both lonely children.

"Well then, if you're _quite_ sure about that..." Sasori said mildly, but the meaning of his unfinished sentence was sharp enough.

"I am quite sure," Sasuke replied, although he was forcing a little more assurance into his voice than he actually felt.

"What about you, Sasori-danna?" Deidara cut in. Sasuke mentally thanked the other boy for saving him from Sasori's scrutiny, although he would never admit to feeling grateful to Deidara even if his life depended on it. "Didn't you come from Suna, un?"

"Chance made it so I was born there, that is all," Sasori replied. "No one there has any attachment to me, and I don't care about any of them, either. In any case, I believe that is quite enough of questions before the two of you have finished reading. Make sure you pack, as well. I am going to go and finish preparing to leave myself now—you may remove the genjutsu, Sasuke, since we are done discussing confidential subjects."

Once the door had closed behind Sasori, Sasuke let himself fall flat on the bed with a slight sigh. Unfortunately for this dramatic gesture, Sasuke landed precisely on one of the fastenings of his cloak and therefore promptly sat back up. With Sasori's departure, Deidara had started to bounce again, and Sasuke threw a pillow in his general direction before unrolling the mission scroll so he could read it further.

_What are you like now, Gaara of the Sand?_ Sasuke wondered as he read the few paragraphs of biography preceding information about the target's habits, combat strengths and weaknesses. When Sasuke had first run into him, Gaara had just seemed to be another child were it not for how easily he had killed those who had attacked them.

According to the scroll, Gaara was the son of the Kazekage and the first Tailed Beast had been sealed into him at the time of his birth. Apparently, not enough consideration had been given as to how to keep him under control, and eventually the Kazekage had come to fear Gaara enough to commision several attempts to kill him. _Was that the secret job Itachi had? _Sasuke thought. _If he was looking for Gaara, not me, that__ would certainly explain how he found us. In that case, Gaara's lucky I was there—I don't know if he could have saved himself from someone as strong as Itachi._

By the time the Chuunin exams had rolled around, Gaara had been nearly driven mad by the beast sealed within him, which would certainly explain his brutal behaviour and how afraid his own siblings had been of him.

After the Chuunin exams, however, things had changed yet again, and Gaara was now much more stable. So much more so that he had actually been appointed last year as the Kazekage, ending a lengthy period of political turmoil in Suna. Sasuke could almost feel glad for Gaara if it weren't for the fact that he and his compatriots were about to take all that away.

_See, there's no way Naruto could be a container,_ Sasuke told himself after he had finished reading. _He's nothing like Gaara._

[A/N: I just want to say that I'm very very very sorry for teasing with the scroll like that last chapter. I wrote a nice long chapter to make up for it, so please don't be too upset, okay? Also, for some reason Sasori's turning out a bit 'British,' I'm really not sure why but I like it. Finally, please note that the special 'Sandcastles and Playmates' has further information about Sasuke's connection with Gaara.]


	44. Part II, Chapter 7: Fickle Fortune

[A/N: This is where things started to become tricky when I was sorting everything out, so I'm sorry that this chapter is late. I also realized that if I didn't add a new POV I would be in trouble once I get to a certain spot, so here's Sakura!]

Chapter 7: Fickle Fortune

"Sakura? Hey, Sakura-chan!"

"Come in," Sakura called, smiling indulgently as she recognized the voice outside the door of her office.

"When are you going to be ready to go to lunch?" Naruto demanded. "You said two o'clock, but it's, like, way past that now!"

"It's only five after," Sakura pointed out. "I'll be ready as soon as I finish fixing Iruka-sensei up."

"Hi Iruka-sensei," Naruto greeted now that his attention had been brought to the other person in the room. "What happened to you?"

"Shuriken training accident," Iruka explained. "I told the headmaster I was fine, but he insisted I go to the hospital. It's nothing serious, really."

"Not now it isn't serious," Sakura chided. "It hit the tendon, and those are hard to fix if you wait too long. Anyway, I've just got to finish this bandage and then you can get back to your class."

Sakura was skilled enough in chakra healing to repair injuries entirely, but she generally reserved these abilities for emergencies. While Iruka's injury wasn't as minor as he was trying to make it out (probably trying to get back to his class as soon as possible) it couldn't be categorized as an emergency, so Sakura had only used a little chakra to repair the damage to the tendon.

"There you go," Sakura said after a moment, fastening the bandage neatly around Iruka's forearm. "Not much I can do for your shirt, though," she apologized, inspecting the garment draped across her operating table. There was a ragged gash in one sleeve, the edges stained with blood. While a shinobi tailor could certainly fix it, it would be at least a day's work.

"Not to worry," Iruka replied with a smile. "I always have a spare in the classroom—these things happen all the time. If it's not blood it's paint, or water, or juice...I really should be getting back."

With a brisk "Thank you, Sakura," and "See you later, Naruto," the teacher slipped his vest back on, snatched his shirt up and rushed out of the room.

"What's he so worried about?" Naruto remarked, bouncing up onto the operating table Iruka had just vacated.

"Remember your little admirer Konohamaru? He and his friends are in Iruka's class right now, so I think he has a right to be worried," Sakura explained, but Naruto wasn't really paying attention. "Stop bouncing unless you want to buy me a new operating table."

"Then can we go to lunch now?" Naruto said insistently.

"Just a moment," Sakura said, tugging her rubber gloves off. They were very tight today, and she made a mental note to look into getting a larger size—after all, she wasn't a thirteen-year-old trainee anymore. "Okay, I'm ready," she announced.

Naruto promptly grabbed her hand. "And they're off!" he shouted, sprinting out of the room with Sakura in tow. This had become rather a game of theirs, Naruto pulling her headlong through the hospital while she gave warnings like "Interns on the right!" and "Don't run into Shizune if you value my job!"

Naruto probably found it more fun than she did, but it was a good way to forget the stresses of the day and despite Naruto's whirlwind speed there was yet to be any damage done. And of course, after they made it out of the hospital, there would be Ichiraku's Ramen.

It was a comfortable routine, but Sakura was worried that it would soon be upset. What with the Akatsuki attack on the village (that Kakashi was still recovering from, no matter how much he insisted he was fine) and the news that Naruto might be their next target, they couldn't afford to be complacent much longer.

"The usual," Naruto told Ichiraku before Sakura could say anything, not that she would have asked for something different.

Naruto had been practically 'hovering' around her ever since that disastrous mission to Iron Country. Whenever they weren't working, he was with her. It was very sweet of him, although it was probably as much for his benefit as hers. Naruto still seemed to be struggling with Sasuke's death, trying to distract himself with missions or being protective of his remaining teammate.

Sakura still had times like that, and worried about Naruto herself, but she had large come to terms with the loss of Sasuke. That was one reason why she had begun to study healing—he had helped them so much that she felt it was only right to help others in his memory. Of course there was no way to tell, but she thought it was what he would have wanted.

...

"Aaaand there go the guards, un," Deidara murmured, his excitement obvious despite his lowered voice. Sasuke winced a little at the series of small explosions below; certainly this was necessary for their mission, but that was such a _messy_ way to go.

Sasuke had to grab at his hood to keep it up as Deidara's bird swooped silently down over the walls of Suna. With the guards on the perimeter taken care up, they passed unnoticed and landed on a roof several buildings away from the Kazekage's headquarters.

"Sasori _promised_ I'd get to blow stuff up this time, un," Deidara grumbled as he and Sasuke dropped into the street. "Something had better happen soon."

Sasori, not wanting to enter Suna proper, had served as their guide through the desert and given them a detailed map of their destination. He had made it clear, however, that they were on their own once they reached the village. Currently, he was waiting for their return at an oasis several miles away.

Suna was very dark at night, and the streets were deserted except for a few patrols, which were lax and easily avoided or eliminated. The Kazekage's building looked empty, but there was one light on at an upper window.

Since Gaara was an insomniac due to his possession by the Tailed Beast, Sasuke and Deidara had concluded that the best time to attempt to capture him would be at night, when he would hopefully be by himself or at least lightly guarded. It seemed that this idea was paying off. In any case, they were able to reach the building and enter through a back window without being contested.

Once they began to look for where Gaara was, however, they realized they had a bit of a problem.

"This doesn't match danna's map," Deidara whispered, turning the map this way and that as he attempted to match up the hallway they were in with the one on the paper Sasori had given them.

"Probably the building's been renovated since he was here last," Sasuke said. "It's been, what, twenty years? We'll just have to find our way upstairs ourselves."

Gaara's chakra was oddly faint—the building material of the Kazekage's headquarters seemed to have some chakra-muting properties that made it difficult to trace chakra through the walls. Sasuke could tell Gaara was in the building and in one of the upper levels, but little else directionally.

"Let me see the map," Sasuke said, although since he snatched the map away from Deidara at the same time there was no real point to the request. "I don't think they would have moved the staircase during a remodel, and I think we came in about here," he said, pointing on the map, "so if we head _that_ way we should be able to find the staircase. Let's go."

Deidara grumbled a little but followed Sasuke quietly through the hallways. Sasuke, being used to the more linear construction of Konoha architecture, had a little trouble keeping headed in the right direction when confronted with the organic curves of Suna design, but made out well enough just the same. It wasn't as if Deidara could have done any better, since Sasuke knew the older teen had a terrible sense of direction indoors.

"So..." Sasuke said finally, "the stairs are most likely behind one of these three doors."

"Well, let's start trying them then, un!" Deidara declared, grabbing for the latch of the first.

"I think you'd better—" Sasuke began to warn him too late, as Deidara opened the door and illuminated the hallway with a flood of light. "—wait because there's a breakroom near here. Come on, move!"

Assuming Deidara would follow, Sasuke began to run back the way he had come, then stopped as he realized he couldn't hear Deidara's lighter footsteps behind him._ There's not much I can do if he's gone and gotten himself lost, _Sasuke told himself._ We'll regroup outside and find another way in._

Still, he decided the responsible thing to do would be to at least check on his teammate, so he quietly crept down the hallway again, then paused in surprise when he came in sight of the entrance to the breakroom. Deidara was still standing there. _What on earth is he doing?_

Then Sasuke got a look at the tell-tale distortion of Deidara's shadow and realized with a sinking feeling what had happened. Before he could think of any way to remedy the situation, Deidara took a few stumbling steps forward and disappeared into the room.

"This is going to be _so_ troublesome," Sasuke heard someone sigh just before the door slammed behind Deidara.

"You don't know the half of it," Sasuke groaned quietly, leaning against the wall as he began to consider his options.

…...

The underground research facility was cold, but he had long since become accustomed to it. It was not as if he cared at all what became of himself, in any case. His residence here was merely a means to an end—that end being his revenge on all who had wronged him and destroyed everyone he loved.

_And after that, what then?_

"Nothing," he murmured softly, the barest smile at the corner of his mouth. "Nothing at all."

And how nice that would be...the end of all his grief and anger.

The door opening behind him interrupted his reverie and he turned to face his visitor.

"Itachi-sama," Kabuto said, bowing slightly as he entered, "a message has arrived from Orochimaru-sama. He wishes to meet with you and will be arriving within the week."

"Understood," Itachi responded, absently rubbing his wrist where it had begun to burn with pain. "I will be ready."

[A/N: So...I didn't really mean to update this for another few weeks, but then I thought of an awesome way to get this next arc started and wanted to get it down before I forgot. Also, I have a research paper due next week. Yay for procrastination!

Also, a quick plug for a couple other of my stories: if you want to read more of my stuff while waiting for Turning Points to update again, I'm updating The Disappearance and Ichor fairly regularly. The Disappearance has lots of Itachi in it, and Ichor is a dark take on a SasuSaku pairing.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! You've certainly waited long enough for it.]


	45. Part II, Chapter 8: Sandstorm

[A/N: Did y'all read Naruto 631? I was FLABBERGASTED, I tell you. My flabber, it was _gasted_.]

Chapter 8: Sandstorm

"I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon," Sasori said, his voice fuzzy with the static from Sasuke's small portable transceiver. "Did things really go that easily?"

Sasuke sighed. He hated having to admit his failure, but there was little else he could do if he didn't want this mission to collapse completely. "No—that's why I'm calling."

"What happened to Deidara?" Sasori asked, quickly deducing what must have gone wrong.

Sasuke brushed a windblown lock of hair away from his mouth before replying. After Deidara's capture, he had left the building and was currently sitting, heavily shielded by genjutsu, atop a roof adjacent to the Kazekage's office window. It had only taken a few minutes for dozens of Suna shinobi to arrive at the building, but Gaara was still alone, leaving a small window of opportunity for the mission to come to a successful conclusion.

"He was captured," Sasuke explained quickly. "The building is now well-guarded, but I think that—"

"Your teammate was captured and you did nothing?" Sasori sounded mildly disappointed.

"I _couldn't_ do anything!" Sasuke protested. "There was a Konoha ninja who knows me there—I would have been recognized. Listen, I know you don't want to come into Suna, but we can still get Gaara_ if_ you help."

"Technically, I was only supposed to be escorting you there," Sasori pointed out.

"Technically, if we come back without Gaara_ and_ short a member besides, you'll still get in trouble even if you were 'only escorting'."

There was abrupt silence from Sasori's side and Sasuke took a deep breath. Sasori would not have been at all pleased with Sasuke's defiance, but hopefully he would realize how serious the issue was.

"Very well," Sasori replied finally. "I will join you shortly. Keep track of the target's location and _do not_ permit yourself to be seen."

"Understood," Sasuke responded. He was a little annoyed to hear the patronizing tone in Sasori's voice, but considering how badly this mission was going at the moment he probably deserved it.

Sasori arrived surprisingly quickly, appearing silently at Sasuke's side within ten minutes. "The target?" he inquired curtly.

"He's in that room," Sasuke replied. "There are increased guards outside the room and throughout the building, but no one in the room with him yet."

"And Deidara?"

"We were on the ground floor when he was captured. As far as I can tell from chakra, he seems to have been taken underground."

"We'll have to leave him then. You will make your way into Gaara's room and—"

"You mean we're not even going to try to save Deidara?" Sasuke interrupted. "You didn't sound very happy that I left him, but you're just going to abandon him anyway!"

Sasori shrugged. "There is nothing to be done now. We must concentrate on our actual mission; if Deidara manages to save himself, so be it."

Sasuke fumed at Sasori's casual dismissal as he listened to the Suna missing-nin explain the rest of the plan. As an Akatsuki member, if Deidara didn't succeed in escaping, he would likely come to a slow and miserable end at the hands of a expert interrogation squad. Despite his dislike of Deidara, the blond was Sasuke's teammate, and he didn't like the thought of abandoning a teammate for any reason, especially to such a fate as that.

_I'm starting to sound like Kakashi now,_ Sasuke thought absently as Sasori turned away. _But Kakashi lied,_ he reminded himself.

Balancing on the edge of the roof, Sasuke gathered chakra to his feet as he prepared to jump, then ducked back as several guards ran past on the street below. Sasori had already vanished, waiting for Sasuke to start things off.

Once the guards were gone, Sasuke stepped back to the edge of the roof, leaving his hat behind—it would only fall off anyway. Taking a deep breath, he carefully wove a layer of genjutsu around himself, then jumped. With chakra giving him a boost, the twenty-five feet or so across was easy enough, and a few seconds later Sasuke was perched on Gaara's windowsill, the genjutsu hiding the soft sound as he landed.

Gaara wasn't looking in the direction of the window, which was lucky. Sasuke still had the element of surprise—but he was finding it difficult to put into use. Despite all that had happened during the Chuunin Exams, Sasuke couldn't help but still think of Gaara as his sole childhood friend. Indeed, the violence of the Chuunin Exams hadn't been Gaara's fault, rather that of the beast within him and the previous Suna regime.

Akatsuki's aim was not Gaara, but the Tailed Beast of which he was the container. However, Sasuke had read that removing the creature would inevitably result in the container's death.

_It's a mission—you have to go through with it. _Sasuke slipped inside Gaara's office, still trying to convince himself._ He might even be better off dead than housing a monster._

Sasuke was almost halfway to the desk Gaara was sitting at when Gaara stretched and leaned back, yawning, then spun his chair around to face the window. Gaara froze, his eyes widening, as he finally noticed Sasuke, but there was no sign that he recognized the intruder.

Deciding that even if Gaara recognized him he would have no opportunity to tell anyone, Sasuke began to activate the Sharingan. Before he could attempt to entrap Gaara in a Mangekyou technique, Sasuke was interrupted by a tendril of sand catching him by the ankle and throwing him against the opposite wall. Gaara hadn't even moved, and Sasuke hadn't expected such a sudden attack. He recovered quickly, however, and ducked away as soon as the sand released him, avoiding another whip of sand before it could snake around his neck.

Sasuke had never fought Gaara properly; the last time they had faced each other, during the Chuunin exams, they had both been tired and Sasuke much less experienced than he was now. Fighting Gaara at his full strength, in his territory, was a very different situation.

The Kazekage's office was not large, and Sasuke knew that if Gaara could get his sand around the walls and surround him things would be over. The window he had come through was already blocked by sand—Sasuke would have to change up the playing field if he wanted to come out on top here. Pulling out several kunai with explosive tags attached, he flung them towards the outer wall, only to have them caught by Gaara's sand, the explosions smothered uselessly.

_Time to stop playing around,_ Sasuke thought._ Sasori had better take care of things outside, because in a minute everyone's going to know Deidara wasn't the only Akatsuki in the city._

While Sasuke was in general very well-supplied with chakra, the Mangekyou could drain his stores quickly if he wasn't careful. Usually, this was not an issue—using the Mangekyou almost always meant that the battle would end almost immediately. With Gaara, though, Sasuke wasn't sure things would resolve so smoothly. Raw power wouldn't be enough, and since Gaara needed to be intact for whatever the leader had in store for him Sasuke couldn't risk harming him badly.

For now, the best plan of attack would be to get Gaara out of the cramped battleground of the office—Sasuke would have a better advantage in a more spacious playing field.

"Amaterasu!"

Gaara easily avoided the swath of dark flames that swirled out against the wall, but Sasuke hadn't been aiming for him, anyway. Now not only had he gotten rid of that pesky wall hampering his fighting style, but Amaterasu had swallowed up a large portion of the sand from Gaara's gourd as well.

Sasuke jumped outside through the gaping hole that had taken the place of the room's outer wall and Gaara followed. Gaara still hadn't broken his composure, but Sasuke could tell that he was angered over the destruction of his sand—hopefully angered enough to be irrational.

Now that Sasuke had more space to fight in, things were starting to go his way. Gaara's attacks were very reliant on actually catching his opponent, which would have been much more likely in the small office. Sasuke leaped back as Gaara's sand struck out at him again.

Landing on another roof, he looked around, wondering where Sasori had gotten to. While Sasuke was fairly certain he could take Gaara by himself, it would be very difficult to take a captive out of the city without some backup. Indeed, more Suna shinobi were already flocking towards the ruptured tower, and Sasuke could see Gaara's brother Kankurou among them. Temari was nowhere to be seen, but Sasuke had not time to give her absence more than passing notice.

Sasuke was preparing to guard himself from an attack on the ground when the clay bird he and Deidara had flown in on suddenly swooped through his peripheral vision, diving towards the ninjas below. For a moment, he thought that Deidara had escaped, then noticed Sasori sitting on the bird's back. _That certainly explains how he got here so quickly._

That brief moment of distraction almost proved to be his undoing. Sasuke's momentary focus on the bird to one side left the other side open long enough for Gaara's sand to catch his arm. The pressure was intense, even through the heavy sleeve of Sasuke's coat, and he almost thought his arm was going to break.

Sasuke couldn't dodge now, and it only took a few seconds for Gaara to lash two more tendrils of sand around his waist and neck, lifting him off the ground. _And what were you thinking about how you could take him on by yourself?_ Sasuke chided mentally.

The last time Sasuke had faced Gaara there had been three on his side, and Sasuke hadn't ended up contributing much to actually winning the fight—Naruto had been responsible for that.

Sasuke quickly forced himself to stop thinking on the past and focus on what was going on right now. Gaara was pulling him closer, the sand around his neck tight enough that he was beginning to have trouble breathing. The long-suppressed claustrophobia of Sasuke's childhood days threatened to overwhelm him and he had to force himself to stay calm—if he didn't mess up now, this would probably be his best chance of winning the fight. If he waited too long though, Gaara was likely to break his neck.

Taking a deep breath (made somewhat difficult by the sand constricting his neck) Sasuke waited until Gaara had brought him close enough for their eyes to meet.

The fact that Sasuke was already in contact with Gaara's chakra through the sand made it a simple manner to introduce the genjutsu. He couldn't use Tsukiyomi—considering the hold Gaara had on him at the moment, the shock of Tsukiyomi would likely end badly for Sasuke—but even without the option of the Sharingan, Sasuke had become very skilled in genjutsu.

Gaara's eyes widened as the genjutsu took hold, the sand loosening enough for Sasuke to free himself. Even under the effects of the genjutsu, Gaara wasn't out of the fight, but his movements were slower and Sasuke knew it wouldn't take long to bring him down now. The trouble would be capturing him without injuring him significantly.

"Sasuke, hold your breath!" Sasori shouted from above.

Sasuke heard the warning too late as a cloud of noxiously sweet-smelling green gas enveloped both him and Gaara as well as most of the street they were fighting above. The poison took effect quickly, as Sasuke could feel himself weakening even in the few seconds before he registered what Sasori had said and held his breath until he could get clear.

"Sasori, what the—" Sasuke shouted at where his colleague had been, then broke off in a fit of coughing.

"You were taking too long," Sasori replied calmly, landing the bird on the rooftop next to Sasuke. Gaara lay inert across the bird's neck—even the container needed to breathe, so his sand armor had done little good against Sasori's poison. "Let's go."

Sasuke sighed, indignant at Sasori's intrusion on what had been _his_ fight, but to woozy from the poison to put up much protest as Sasori beckoned him aboard the bird.

"Mission accomplished," Sasori declared as Sasuke watched Suna recede into the distance, the sight blurred by the poison affecting him. "The Leader _will_ be pleased."

[A/N: I just realized that this is the first big fight scene of Part II! I think it turned out pretty well (albeit _long_). I'm honestly not exactly sure whether Sasori's being able to operate Deidara's constructs is canon, but I had him doing it in In Which Deidara and figured it couldn't hurt here.]


	46. Part II, Chapter 9: Correspondence

[A/N: Look, another nice long chapter! I hope you all are pleased.]

Chapter 9: Correspondence

It was only after two days of flying over the desert that the poison cleared from Sasuke's system to the extent that he recovered enough of his faculties to remember why he had been reluctant to leave Suna with Sasori.

Sasori had barely said a word during the flight; he wasn't one for needless conversation. Gaara was still unconscious, and probably would be out for another several days.

"What about Deidara?" Sasuke demanded, glaring at Sasori's back accusingly.

Sasori turned to look at him, the expression on his stiff face probably what passed for surprise. Sasuke had been much less vocal than usual while he recuperated from his accidental dose of Sasori's poison, and the more experienced Akatsuki member had probably thought he had forgotten all about his captured teammate. "What about him? You can't possibly be considering going back—you hate him. Besides, we're too far away. The Leader will find you another teammate you'll get along with better."

"I don't _want_ another teammate!" Sasuke snapped, furious at Sasori's callous dismissal. Deidara had been Sasori's teammate before he had been Sasuke's, but Sasori didn't seem to care at all what happened to him. Sure, Sasuke didn't feel overly affectionate towards Deidara, but the two of them had been together constantly for years—he couldn't just not care, now that it was convenient to discard Deidara. "Now are you going to turn this bird around or do I go back by myself?"

"I will not risk the Leader's prize for your childish whims," Sasori replied coldly. "Go if you must but don't expect anyone to come and save you when you fail."

Despite this admonition, Sasori was charitable enough to make the bird swoop lower so Sasuke wasn't forced to jump a hundred feet to the ground.

Sasuke sighed as he adjusted his hat, watching Sasori vanish into the distance. Now that he was walking, it would probably take him three or four days to make it back to Suna, and he would have to keep an eye out for any Suna shinobi following their leader's abductors.

And besides that, there was the heat. Sasuke much preferred milder climates, but there was nothing to be done about that now. "I just hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you, Deidara," he grumbled as he set off.

…...

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto chirped, appearing in Sakura's operating room window. "Guess what, _Shinobi from the Dark Planet_ is on tonight. Want to come over to my place and watch it?"

"I don't see why not," Sakura replied as she finished tidying up the room. She'd seen that movie several times before, but once more couldn't hurt if it made Naruto happy. She could even get some paperwork done while she watched. "What's that scroll?" she asked as she turned to face the window and noticed what Naruto was holding.

"It's a letter from Shikamaru in Suna. We got the mail packet from Suna almost a week ago, but they only just now gave me the letter. Can you read it for me? Shikamaru's handwriting is terrible."

"Sure," Sakura said, although she had a sneaking suspicion that it was Shikamaru's advanced vocabulary, rather than his handwriting, that was the cause for Naruto's request. "Let's walk over to your apartment now—but I don't want instant ramen for dinner. I'll treat you to sushi, okay?"

Naruto pouted (even if he was being treated, he'd rather have ramen) but Sakura held firm. Although Naruto seemed to be making out well enough on a diet of ramen and pocky, Sakura had sufficient nutritional experience to know that it was best to get some variance once in awhile.

After Sakura was satisfied that her operating room would be ready when she returned to the hospital tomorrow, she and Naruto headed for the dining area of town. Since Sakura had decided what they would be eating, she let Naruto pick which sushi restaurant they would go to—he didn't have expensive tastes, so she didn't have to worry too much for her wallet.

"Oh, Sakura!"

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura turned at the familiar voices. "Chouji, Ino! What are you doing here?"

"Ino wanted to eat out so I'm treating," Chouji explained.

"You got off work early today," Ino remarked. "Are you here by yourself?"

"No, Naruto's up there somewhere, scouting out where we're going to eat."

"Not ramen?"

"I told him we were eating sushi and he was going to like it," Sakura replied as Naruto came running back to the group.

"Sakura-chan, Fujiwara's has a two-for-one, let's go there!" Naruto announced. "Hi Chouji, hi Ino! We just got a letter from Shikamaru, you know. Did you get one?"

"No..." Ino pouted. "Come on Chouji, let's go to Fujiwara's too, that way we can see what Shikamaru has to say."

"Fujiwara's is pretty good," Chouji said.

"All right!" Naruto cheered. "The more the merrier. Last one there pays the tip!"

With that spurring them on, the walk quickly turned into a headlong race among the group of young shinobi. Naruto nearly got there first, but Chouji determinedly blocked his and Sakura's way, and Ino leaped up and sprung off Chouji's shoulder to increase her lead, arriving at the door of Fujiwara's a few seconds before the rest.

Sakura ended up last, but couldn't bring herself to begrudge the others; with the salary from her hospital job she could probably afford the tip better than the other three, if only Chouji didn't let himself go too much. With Shikamaru being absent for the past several months, Ino and Chouji hadn't been going on many missions, and Sakura knew that Ino at least had been helping out at her family's business to offset her reduced earnings.

While Ino had been the first one into the restaurant, Chouji reached a booth in the corner of the building before her as she paused to catch her breath. Sakura and Naruto quickly followed, and Ino joined them a few moments later with some menus. Once they had all ordered, the foursome settled down to wait for their food.

"Come on, Naruto, let's see the letter!" Ino cajoled. "I want to know what Shikamaru's gotten into without us to look after him."

"Well, okay. Here Sakura, you open it."

Sakura took the small scroll Naruto handed to her and examined it briefly before opening the seal. It was a basic letter scroll, and a few symbols written on the side by the postal office marked it as censored for classified information and released for delivery. The outside was a bit weatherbeaten, which was unsurprising considering the letter had come all the way from Suna. Breaking the wax seal, Sakura began to unroll the letter.

"Okay, it says:

_Felicitations to all those in Konoha, and my special greetings to Chouji, Ino, Sakura and Naruto._

"See, that's why I wanted you to read it," Naruto cut in. "Whenever he writes anything it turns out all fancy."

"Hush, Naruto!" Ino reprimanded.

_I am as well as could be expected in this troublesome climate. The rainy season has long since ended, so water supplies are currently restricted. As the guest of the Kazekage I receive a larger ration than most, but it is still far less than I am accustomed to._

_There seem to be no good Shougi players in Suna. Some of the older shinobi have a fair ability for it, and Kankurou is decent, but I have yet to find anyone who can provide a challenge. Temari refuses to learn. She says she will when I can beat her in a fight, despite the fact that I did so in the Chuunin Exams. Apparently, my strategic forfeiture does not count to her._

_This is one of the many ways in which Temari is most troublesome, but she is at least not as shrill as Ino._

"Hey, what does he mean by that?" Ino demanded. "If it wasn't for me he'd just lay around looking at the clouds all day!"

"I'm sure he didn't mean it too seriously," Sakura said soothingly. "Should I go on?"

"Sure, whatever."

_Gaara is an exemplary host, and he appears to be much changed since we last faced each other. I am currently residing in the home of the Kazekage, with Gaara, Temari and Kankurou. Temari cannot, or does not, cook, and the rest of us are generally too busy to do so—_

"Shikamaru can't cook either," Chouji pointed out.

_—therefore, our continued custom at Suna restaurants is doing much for the village economy._

"Um...what?" Naruto interrupted.

"They're spending a lot eating out," Ino translated.

_However, I believe that things will not be this peaceful for the entirety of my residence here. Baki, Gaara's former teacher, believes that Gaara may be in danger, although he has not said from what quarter this danger may come. I do not put much trust in hunches or guesswork, but upon examining [CENSORED]_

"Sorry about that," Sakura said as she scanned down the page. "It looks like there's a whole line gone, at least."

_seem plausible. In any case, Temari and I have been designated as Gaara's bodyguards, which means that we spend a great deal of time in each other's company. Gaara keeps very late nights, so if nothing appears amiss we while away the time in the breakroom of the Kazekage's headquarters. Temari has introduced me to a game called 'air hockey'—she probably chose this particular game because she can use her wind techniques to beat me at it. It is a strenuous activity, but rather pleasant. Upon my return, we will have to look into obtaining an air hockey table for the Konoha shinobi lounge._

_I hope that all my friends are well, and that Ino is not being too troublesome to Chouji in my absence._

"Well...you did get me to buy you dinner..." Chouji remarked.

"You offered!" Ino protested. "I didn't force you or anything."

_There are still two months remaining in my posting here as envoy until I can return to Konoha. I think of you all daily and while I am sometimes glad I am away, more often I wish I could return sooner._

_Best wishes,_

_Nara Shikamaru_

_P.S. Naruto asked me to tell him what the ramen was like in Suna. Due to water restrictions it is not always available, but when it is it is quite good. Also, the breakroom has free cup ramen for any shinobi cleared to enter._

"He certainly seems to be doing well," Sakura said once she had finished reading the letter, reaching for a glass of water.

"Yes, having fun with that Temari girl," Ino grumbled.

"What, are you jealous?" Sakura asked after she had satisfied her thirst.

"Not really...I just don't want him to get his heart broken or whatever."

"When's the food going to get here?" Chouji enquired. "I'm hungry!"

"Looks like it's going to be soon," Naruto announced, boosting himself up on the edge of the booth so he could see into the kitchen. "Oh no, duck everybody!" he whispered sharply, scrunching down in his seat so he couldn't be seen.

The others followed suit, although a little confused as to what Naruto was so upset about. "What's going on?" Sakura whispered back.

"_Neji_," Naruto hissed, pressing behind Chouji to get even further out of sight.

"Oh..." Ino breathed, realizing the problem as a tinkling bell announced the arrival of more customers to Fujiwara's.

The four shinobi in the corner booth held their breath until Neji and his two friends (probably the only friends he had left in the village, Sakura mused) passed them, headed for a table in the far back of the restaurant.

"Looks like it's safe now," Chouji said softly, and Sakura relaxed, taking her hands away from where she had been using them to cover her tell-tale pink hair.

Their order of sushi arrived just then, providing a welcome distraction. It was several minutes before the amount of food had been reduced enough that they could continue their conversation.

"Has Neji really gotten that bad?" Ino asked quietly, glancing towards the back table before speaking. There was enough background conversation going on in the restaurant that Neji and his team probably wouldn't be able to hear anything said this far away. "I mean, it's true that he doesn't like anybody, but I didn't think it was necessary to avoid him all the time."

Sakura smiled ruefully. "Yes, well, he doesn't like me and Naruto more than he doesn't like everyone else in the village. It's because we were teammates with—" she took a deep breath to steady herself. "—Sasuke."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ino murmured sympathetically. "I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine," Sakura said curtly, reaching for another piece of sushi. Dwelling on Team 7's loss would only make things worse, so she just wanted to end this part of the conversation as soon as possible. "Anyway, Naruto and I need to be going—there's a movie on TV tonight he doesn't want to miss. Come by the hospital tomorrow and tell me how much the bill and tip were and I'll settle it."

Standing quietly, Sakura headed for the door. Naruto had to crawl under the table to join her, so as not to get between Chouji and his food.

Ino waved as they left the restaurant. "Let me know if you hear any more news from Suna, okay?"

"Hurry up, Sakura-chan!" Naruto urged as they walked down the street back towards Naruto's apartment. "_Shinobi from the Dark Planet_ starts in twenty minutes!"

"You've seen it fifteen times before," Sakura pointed out. "I'm sure you can remember how it starts."

"Well sure, but I don't want to start watching in the middle! That's just wrong, you know!"

"Sakura!" a voice shouted from behind them. "Wait up!"

"What is it, Shizune?" Sakura asked as Tsunade's assistant ran up, panting for breath. "Did something happen at the hospital?"

"Not that," Shizune gasped. "Political emergency. The Kazekage has been abducted by the Akatsuki!"

[A/N: The next chapter, 'Loyalties' will hopefully be completed by next week, if Finals succumb to my might the way I want them to.]


	47. Part II, Chapter 10: Jailbreak

[A/N: And now for another rousing chorus of 'I'm So Sorry This Chapter's So Late (But At Least It's Really Long).']

Chapter 10: Jailbreak

It took Sasuke three days and nights of walking to arrive back at Suna, at which point he was faced by the problem of how to get back into the city without being seen. When he and Deidara had arrived before, they had come in from the air, which was less well guarded since intruders were not expected from that direction. But Sasuke was grounded now, and he would have to find a way through the walls.

Suna was well-secured now, and Sasuke could see no means of ingress that would be possible from the ground. With few other options, he took up a well-hidden vantage point of the main gate, in hopes that he could slip in while the gates were opened for a different arrival. Unfortunately, that would take time, and he wasn't sure how much time Deidara had left. Still, there was nothing else to be done, so Sasuke tried to be patient.

Night fell soon after Sasuke began watching the gate, and he curled up in his Akatsuki cloak to keep warm as the desert air quickly turned cold. He could have used a fire jutsu to warm himself, but he was tired from walking and didn't want to waste his remaining energy. When he made it into the city he would need all the chakra he had left.

Sometime after midnight, one of the Suna patrols that had been chasing Sasori and Gaara returned to the village. Due to lack of sleep for the past few days, Sasuke had dozed off for a few minutes and did not notice their arrival until the guards challenged them. Therefore, he only had a very short time to make it over to the group, conceal himself among them and get through before the gate closed.

With so little time to put his concealing genjutsu together as he ran towards the gate, Sasuke ended up using more of his chakra than he wanted to. Still, he did manage to make it inside without being spotted, so he decided he had nothing to complain about.

The Kazekage's headquarters were mostly deserted now; from what Sasuke could tell, his destruction of Gaara's chambers had damaged the structural integrity of the building to the point where everyone working in the building had been moved somewhere else. Now that it was night, there were no repairmen at work either.

As he got closer to the building, Sasuke realized that his initial deduction was untrue—while there was no-one left in the above-ground levels, he could detect chakra emanating from the basement area. _Deidara's probably still in the underground holding cells then. That makes things a bit easier,_ Sasuke thought as he looked for a way into the building that was not blocked by the scaffolding that had been set up to hold the structure together while repairs were made.

It didn't take him long to find a spot where he could climb through the scaffolding, albeit with some difficulty—the hem of his cloak was torn in the process—and reach a window into the ground floor.

The interior of the ground floor was still intact, although there were several areas where chunks had fallen from the ceiling, and the floor was strewn with dislodged sand. Sasuke realized he was leaving clear footsteps, but decided that by the time anyone noticed them he would be long gone with Deidara.

Sasuke had kept the map Sasori had made in an inner pocket of his cloak, and now consulted it in order to find the way down to the level where he thought Deidara was. He was a little unsure as to where he had entered the building related to the map, but after a couple of dead ends he thought he had the general direction figured out.

When Sasuke nearly fell down an open trapdoor, he knew he had the right place. Looking through the opening, he could see a corridor lit by bare incandescent bulbs. There didn't appear to be any guards very close to this particular entrance, so he dropped lightly to the cement floor below.

The hallway leading to the underground prison slanted downwards, and Sasuke could see a door at the end that probably led to the main facility. Judging by the length of the hallway, the prison area seemed to be located across the street from the building Sasuke had just left.

There was no sign of any guards in the hallway, but Sasuke approached the door cautiously. There did not seem to be any traps or motion-activated genjutsu on the door, so he experimentally tried the latch. It gave, but he still waited to open the door. For all he knew, there could be a dozen squads of guards on the other side, and with the current state of his chakra he didn't want to end up in a large-scale fight if he could avoid it.

Once Sasuke was as satisfied as he could be that there was no ambush waiting for him, he opened the door, ducking through and dropping into a crouch as the heavy door closed behind him. There were two guards in his vicinity—only one noticed him, and Sasuke knocked the man out with a genjutsu before he could alert the other.

Sasuke was now in the main cell block, but judging by chakra Deidara was not among these prisoners. On the other side on this area, there was a heavily reinforced door that Sasuke was fairly certain led to a soundproofed interrogation room, and Sasuke could sense Deidara's chakra filtering weakly from that direction.

Continuing on his way, Sasuke made his way around as many of the guards he could—luckily the prison was sparsely guarded due to shinobi being called away to hunt Sasori and Gaara—and used genjutsu to subdue those he couldn't dodge. He was beginning to run dangerously low on chakra, but there was little to be done about that now. While he had a few chakra-bolstering soldier pills, he had a feeling those should be spared for Deidara.

There was a small window in the door of the interrogation room, and Sasuke took a discreet peek through. Deidara was chained to a sturdy-looking chair in the middle of the room. Sasuke couldn't tell whether or not he was conscious, but his head was drooping and he was obviously at the end of his strength. Deidara's long blond hair was out of its tie and now hung in sorry-looking tangles around his pale face—it was hard to see due to the shadows his hair was making, but Sasuke thought he had a black eye.

Now that he knew he had found what he came for, Sasuke had to find a way to get through the door. He had half-hoped that Deidara would be free enough to blast his way out, but obviously that was out of the question. Setting up several layers of genjutsu to keep the remaining guards out of the way, Sasuke began rummaging through his pockets.

A normal exploding tag would attract the attention of the guards, and Sasuke would probably be overwhelmed before even being able to free Deidara. With a few genjutsu-laden adjustments to dampen the sound, however, things might work out pretty well.

The only thing he had available to alter the seal was a regular pen, but after a little tinkering Sasuke was able to infuse the ink with chakra in order to make it work. Once he had made the necessary changes to the seal, Sasuke fastened it to the door just above the latch and took a few steps back before activating it.

Since he was the creator of the genjutsu, Sasuke could hear the full force of the blast, but there wasn't any sign of a reaction from the guards. Still, Sasuke knew he shouldn't dawdle; he didn't have any way of knowing when Deidara's interrogator might return.

The explosion had left the door on its hinges while obliterating the lock. Pushing the door open, Sasuke stepped inside the interrogation room.

Deidara was alert now, although there was something odd about the way he was staring at Sasuke. "Oh, so it's genjutsu now, is that it?" he said coldly.

"What?" Sasuke wasn't sure what to make of this.

"If you're trying to get me to talk at least use someone I'll actually tell things to—come on, I know Sasuke's my teammate, but I don't even _like_ him, so—"

Sasuke grabbed Deidara by the shoulders and gave him a rough shake. "Are you _seriously_ going to sit there and insult me while I'm trying to rescue you?"

Deidara blinked in surprise. "It's really you? No genjutsu?"

"Yes, now let's get out of here," Sasuke said quickly, inspecting Deidara's restraints. The metal chair he was sitting on was bolted to the floor, so the chains holding him were probably the weakest point. Pulling out a kunai, Sasuke set to work.

"I didn't think Sasori would let anyone come back for me," Deidara remarked, tossing his head so his hair was a bit less in his face. He was trying to sound nonchalant, but Sasuke could hear his relief. "He's very...results-focused during missions."

"It wasn't really a matter of 'let'," Sasuke clarified. "He was just too busy to stop me. How bad has it been?"

Deidara shrugged. "They were letting some newbies work on me so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The pineapple wanted to play mind games and the hedgehog just wanted to beat the answers out of me, so they spent more time arguing with each other than actually interrogating me. Since they didn't get any results they were going to turn me over to the professionals tomorrow..."

Sasuke nodded absently as he snapped one of the chains holding Deidara's ankles, then frowned. "Wait a second. Who are you talking about again?"

"The interrogators? I don't know their names. What's-her-name...Gaara's sister? Yeah, that's it. And her boyfriend from Konoha."

"Oh," Sasuke breathed. Was that footsteps he could hear in the corridor? "_That_ could be a significant problem. How fast can you move, do you think?"

"Depends how far..."

Sasuke sighed, trying to think of a way to get the situation quickly under his control. "Listen, as soon as I get you free of these, turn off the lights. The switch is—"

"Six inches to the right of the door, thirty-eight inches up," Deidara replied promptly. "There hasn't been a lot to do in here."

Glancing over the bare white walls, Sasuke could see what Deidara meant. The only things of visual interest in the room were the light switch, the door, and the fluorescent lights in the ceiling.

After another thirty seconds or so, Sasuke managed to snap the second-to-last chain, leaving only the chain around Deidara's right wrist holding him in the chair. Sasuke tugged experimentally on the chain to see where the weakest link was, and Deidara yelped in pain.

"My arm," Deidara gasped, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. "I think it's broken."

The footsteps were coming closer, and Sasuke could hear Temari talking with the guards. The genjutsu might keep them from noticing for a little while longer, but not enough that Sasuke had any time to spare to be gentle.

"Sorry about this then," Sasuke said quickly, thrusting the kunai through one of the links and preparing to snap it. "Be ready to hit the lights."

"...did we have to come back so late at night?" Sasuke could hear Shikamaru saying. It didn't sound like they'd noticed yet, but they were close enough that the genjutsu would break down if either of them took a good look at the door.

"I just wanted to take one more...try..."

Sasuke could feel the genjutsu's collapse—on a good day he could have made it stand up to much more scrutiny, but he had so little chakra to work with that he had been forced to make a lightweight one.

"Hold still," Sasuke ordered Deidara, putting the point of the kunai against the chair's arm for leverage and tugging sharply just before the door flew open. "Lights!" Sasuke shouted as the chain fell free, gathering all his remaining chakra for a genjutsu. Deidara dove for the lightswitch—it was lucky it was so close by because Sasuke could hear him collapse just as the lights went out.

Temari entered first and took Sasuke's genjutsu full-on as she flung a spread of kunai at him. Sasuke had been more focused on casting the genjutsu than dodging, and one of the blades struck his arm; the heavy cloak took a lot of the damage, but Sasuke could feel blood trickling down under the sleeve.

It was only about five seconds before Shikamaru flicked the lights on again, but by that point Sasuke was certain that he had the upper hand, at least for now. Temari was seated in the chair Deidara had just vacated, staring vacantly into genjutsu-fueled visions as Sasuke held a short sword across her throat. Sasuke only wanted her to stay put so she was just seeing a harmless world of pleasant memories, but Shikamaru wouldn't know that.

"I would advise you to stand down, Konoha ninja," Sasuke said quietly. It wasn't likely that he could keep his identity secret from Shikamaru, but it didn't hurt to try.

Shikamaru shrugged and spread his empty hands. "You've certainly changed, Sasuke."

[A/N: Yes, the chapter title's different from what I said last time; that's how much longer this thing got. Also, big announcement! I have an original story up over on FictionPress. I'm WynterSky over there too, so you can just look me up if you want. I'll try to get a link up on my profile soon.]


	48. Part II, Chapter 11: Loyalties

[A/N: Argh, this arc! I haven't advanced in my outline for like five chapters!...So, now that that's out of my system, hopefully I'll get things back on track within a couple of chapters. *crosses fingers*]

Chapter 11: Loyalties

There wasn't any point in hiding any longer, so Sasuke looked up, letting Shikamaru see the Sharingan. "Have I really changed so much? How do you know I wasn't a spy all along?"

Now that Shikamaru knew who he was—not that Sasuke hadn't been expecting him to guess—Sasuke had to find some way of making him keep the secret. Sasuke had no intention of letting word of his survival filter back to Kakashi—but he didn't want to harm Shikamaru, so he had to stall until he could think of something.

Shikamaru smirked at the question. "You weren't good enough before for any sane person to employ you as a spy, and you weren't faking either. I take it you've done some serious training since then?"

"You don't seem very surprised I'm not dead..." Sasuke said with a frown.

Shikamaru shrugged, stepping away from the unconscious Deidara and moving in front of the door. "Things didn't really add up back then. I am surprised to find you working with the Akatsuki though—don't you know what they're after?"

"I don't really care what they're after, frankly," Sasuke replied curtly. "I have my own goals. Now, I think we've done enough talking about me. Let's talk about you, and what you can do for me. Don't do that," Sasuke warned, bringing the blade a little closer to Temari's throat as Shikamaru started to move his hands together to activate his shadow techniques.

"If you insist," Shikamaru said, resting his hands against the doorframe instead. Technically, this was a concession to Sasuke's demand, but blocking the door was still a hostile action. "I take it we're bargaining now?"

"No, _I'm_ bargaining and _you're_ shutting up!" Sasuke ordered. Shikamaru's lazy confidence had always unnerved him when they ended up as opponents, even all the way back in the River Country affair. Of course, that was rather the point and Sasuke knew it, but that didn't make it any less effective. "Now, I'm just guessing that if anything...untoward...were to befall Gaara's sister while you were accompanying her, it might make things a bit tense between Suna and Konoha, isn't that so?"

Shikamaru was still wearing the same lazy expression, but Sasuke knew him well enough to catch the brief flicker of worry that crossed his face as he glanced at the blade against Temari's neck. _I'd really love to know how Shikamaru ended up getting together with one of the people who were trying to kill us during the Chuunin Exams_, Sasuke couldn't help thinking. He didn't have time to catch up with old friends at the moment, however, so he would just take advantage of the relationship as best he could.

"Well," Shikamaru said finally, his voice deliberately even, "she is a troublesome woman...but I'm not about to start a war over her. What do you want me to do?"

Even though Shikamaru had agreed to do as he was told, Sasuke knew he couldn't let down his guard until he and Deidara were safely out of the city. Since Shikamaru was usually so laid-back it was difficult to predict what he would do in a dangerous situation, and his exceptional intelligence made it likely that he would choose a course of action someone else might not even consider. For now, however, Shikamaru appeared to be curious enough about Sasuke's presence to go along with his plans, at least for now.

"You're going to get us out of here," Sasuke stated. "I'm sure there must be a back entrance somewhere—I do hope you know where it is. It would be rather unfortunate for Temari if you didn't."

Shikamaru was starting to look truly concerned now. Sasuke guessed that at least some of this was roleplaying, but he still hated threatening a former ally this way. Attacking Kakashi who had betrayed him and left him to die in the wilderness was one thing, but playing the villain against a comrade who had done nothing to wrong him was quite different. If he had been alone, he would have almost considered telling Shikamaru the truth—but even if Shikamaru knew what had happened, it wouldn't do much to change the current situation.

Shikamaru wouldn't betray the village just to help an old friend turned traitor, and Sasuke wasn't about to ask that of him. For now though, he had a witness in Deidara, who was beginning to recover, and couldn't risk word filtering back to the Leader that Sasuke was not as invested in the Akatsuki's cause as he claimed. If he could not threaten Shikamaru into keeping quiet about his survival, Sasuke might have to take actions that he would regret.

Shikamaru frowned slightly, tilting his head to one side and regarding Sasuke thoughtfully. After a moment he shrugged and turned back to the lightswitch—Deidara had come to by this point and was sitting against the wall, watching the others with interest.

Taking hold of the frame of the lightswitch, Shikamaru pulled it down on a hidden track and turned it to the left until it was perpendicular to the floor. There was a sharp click, as if something had fallen into place, and Sasuke half-turned in surprise as the entire back wall of the interrogation chamber sank into the floor. Behind it there was another sliding door with a keypad embedded in the center.

"Interesting," Sasuke said, returning his attention to Shikamaru. "Where does that lead?"

"Out," Shikamaru replied curtly, stepping over Deidara's legs as he crossed the room to the new door. "Theoretically," he continued as he entered a series of numbers in the keypad, "it's so a prisoner can be brought in without the rest of the prisoners knowing, although since you managed to find Deidara the chakra insulation probably needs to be replaced."

Shikamaru was being surprisingly talkative, Sasuke noted. _Is he trying to distract me from something? If so, it's working...or maybe he's just happy to see me._

The metal door slid open with a soft whirr, revealing the landing to a stone staircase. Sconces in the walls flickered into light as the door opened. Sasuke surveyed what he could see of the stairs with the Sharingan but could detect nothing amiss. "Right, let's go," he said. "Shikamaru, you help Deidara. But first, give him your vest; I'll take your weapons pouch, if you don't mind."

From the look on his face it was clear that Shikamaru did mind and had been hoping Sasuke wouldn't remember this point, but with Temari being held hostage he obliged. Once Shikamaru had zipped Deidara into the vest (it was a bit roomy, but it would both keep Deidara warm in the cold Suna night and prevent Shikamaru from accessing any scrolls or weaponry he had secreted in the pockets) and helped him to his feet, Sasuke gestured for the two of them to enter the passage ahead of him.

Taking Temari's arm with his free hand, Sasuke pulled her to her feet as well and led her through the door, lowering the short sword but not sheathing it. Temari followed with mechanical obedience, still under the genjutsu's thrall. Sasuke knew it wouldn't last forever though—she was beginning to blink normally, which meant that his genjutsu was running out of chakra to feed on. With luck, it would last another few hours, long enough for him to get out of the city with Deidara. If it expired before then, he would be without a hostage or a contingency plan.

Deidara would certainly be no help if they had to fight their way out; the blond was barely managing to pick his feet up enough to climb the stairs and without Shikamaru's support it was obvious he wouldn't even be standing.

The staircase from the interrogation room ended behind another door, this one hinged and opening outward. "Where are we now?" Sasuke asked.

"Intelligence Agency office," Shikamaru replied. "Everyone's gone home for the night, seems like," he added, opening the door and revealing a neatly appointed office full of desks and filing cabinets. "Now what?" he asked once he had helped Deidara into one of the chairs.

"Transportation of some kind—a horse will do," Sasuke replied. Deidara was obviously in no condition to make a bird to fly them out. "Do you happen to know of any secret ways out of the village?"

Unsurprisingly to Sasuke, Shikamaru shook his head. "I may be the guest of the Kazekage, but he wouldn't risk village security to that extent. Do you want to come pick out the horse yourself?"

"I think I will trust your good judgement," Sasuke said. "But I'm keeping Temari here as collateral. If you take more than ten minutes...let's just say that her mental faculties will never be the same."

Shikamaru's fists clenched briefly, and for the first time Sasuke could recall (even back in Konoha) he looked furious. Sasuke couldn't help feeling sorry for the lie—he didn't want to hurt Shikamaru's girlfriend any more than he wanted to hurt Shikamaru himself, and he didn't have enough chakra left to do any lasting damage to Temari's mind anyway—but he didn't have any other options at the moment.

Shikamaru glared at Sasuke for a long moment, then nodded curtly, turned on his heel and left.

Once he was gone, Sasuke seated Temari in one of the other chairs, then perched on the desk in front of her. Now that he finally had a chance to have both hands free, he used a sparing amount of his remaining chakra to heal the gash in his arm, sighing with relief as the pain eased.

"Friend of yours?" Deidara asked after a few moments, making Sasuke jump.

"He was," Sasuke admitted, fishing the packet of soldier pills out of his pocket and tossing it to Deidara, who caught it with his uninjured hand. "Not anymore, though." He wasn't able to put as much conviction in the statement as he had when speaking to Sasori, and he wasn't sure Deidara quite believed him.

"He was being awfully cooperative," Deidara pointed out, tearing open the packet with his teeth so he could get at the pills inside.

"Just curious, probably," Sasuke said. "And besides, we've got his girlfriend, that has to count for something."

"I suppose..." Deidara said.

Sasuke hoped he wouldn't get too suspicious. The last thing he wanted was a situation where he had to kill Shikamaru to prove his loyalty—because that was a test he would very likely fail.

[A/N: Okay, next chapter will hopefully end the Suna arc finally.]


	49. Part II, Chapter 12: Backup

[A/N: Hey guys! I have a new fic up (I know, I know, please don't throw things!) inspired by the Road to Ninja movie, since I finally got around to watching it. It's called Road to Konoha, do please take a look!]

Chapter 12: Backup

The two Akatsuki members had a restless several minutes waiting for Shikamaru to return with the horse Sasuke had demanded. While they waited, Sasuke took out the map Sasori had given him and spread it on the desk so he could study it properly.

There were several secret pathways out of the village marked, but only one looked navigable on horseback. Hopefully it was still in existence; a lot had changed in Suna in the many years since Sasori's defection. If it wasn't around anymore, Sasuke would have to help Deidara out of the city on foot, and that would be far too slow—Temari would recover long before they made it to safety, and then Shikamaru would be after them with a vengeance.

Deidara seemed to feel a lot better after taking the soldier pills, and Sasuke found a few unsharpened pencils to use as splints for his broken arm. "Once we're out of here I'll fix it up properly," Sasuke promised as he wrapped Deidara's arm with a strip of cloth torn from the bottom of his cloak.

"I'll hold you to that," Deidara said, wincing a little as Sasuke tugged on a knot. "So you'd better make sure we do make it out."

Sasuke didn't reply, distracted by the sound of hoofbeats which could now be heard approaching the building the two Akatsuki members were hiding in. "Sound like our ride is here," Sasuke remarked, giving Deidara's bandages one last adjustment before going back to stand beside Temari in anticipation of Shikamaru's return.

Shikamaru looked much more composed when he entered than he had leaving; he was again affecting the lazy mask, and Sasuke could surmise that he was using it to cover up some scheme or other. "I brought your horse, Uchiha-san," Shikamaru drawled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You'll find it right outside—I do hope it's to your satisfaction."

Sasuke couldn't hide his brief agitation at hearing his identity be spoken so clearly, and he knew Shikamaru hadn't missed it either. "I'm sure it will be fine," Sasuke replied. "But before we go, there's one more thing I have to settle with you." Stepping away from Temari, Sasuke drew his short sword again, placing the point of it squarely against Shikamaru's sternum. "Swear to me that you will tell no one I am alive," he ordered.

Shikamaru smirked, his eyebrows raising slightly. "Oh, is the big bad Akatsuki member _afraid_ of something?"

_Yes, I'm afraid you won't agree and then I'll have to kill you!_ Sasuke thought. Deidara was right there and could see and hear everything—there was no way for Sasuke to convince Shikamaru except through threats. "If you do not swear," Sasuke said in a dangerous growl, realizing uncomfortably that the level of intimidation he could bring to bear on Shikamaru was somewhat lessened by the fact that the other teen had stopped slouching and was actually taller than him now, "I will kill you, and her—" he motioned towards Temari with his free hand "—right now."

Shikamaru frowned thoughtfully—_he's trying to figure out if it's a bluff,_ Sasuke guessed, forcing his gaze to remain steadily locked on Shikamaru's eyes.

"Well, I can't say no to that, can I?" Shikamaru said finally.

Sasuke held back any expression of relief; he couldn't let Shikamaru know that he had been worried. "Swear on the honor of your clan that you will tell no one," he demanded, not about to leave Shikamaru the means to break his promise on a technicality.

Shikamaru sighed. "On the honor of the Nara clan, I swear that no one will hear of this from me."

Sasuke lowered the sword. "Good enough," he said. "We'll be leaving now—if you don't follow us, Temari should recover in a few hours."

…...

The horse Shikamaru had brought for them was of the small but sturdy breed common to the desert countries, and could serviceably carry both Sasuke and Deidara. With his injured arm, Deidara needed a little help getting on; once he had mounted, Sasuke got on behind him and took the reins, nudging the horse into a brisk canter. Hoping that he could be permitted some luck for once, Sasuke headed towards the passageway out of the city that Sasori had noted on the map.

"Why did we stop?" Deidara asked after a few minutes, looking up at the sheer rock wall Sasuke had halted the horse in front of. "We wanted to get out, right? This—this really doesn't look like out, un."

Sasuke sighed as he dismounted—even if he had managed to make Shikamaru keep his secret, that would do no good at all if he was captured less than an hour later. "It is a _secret_ passage, you know," he pointed out as he walked over to examine the rock face.

As Sasuke leaned close to the rock, he paused as he felt air flowing outward. _Thank you, Sasori._ "It's right behind here," Sasuke said, pointing at a heap of boulders. "Do you have enough chakra to blast that away?"

"I'd better, un," Deidara replied. "Stand back."

Sasuke returned to the horse as Deidara went to work, gently stroking its nose and speaking soothingly to it so it wouldn't panic when Deidara's bombs went off. The explosion was quieter than usual, and while the horse jerked its head away from Sasuke briefly, flicking its ears back, it didn't try to run away.

"If anyone noticed that, they'll be after us soon," Sasuke said as he helped Deidara back on to the horse and mounted himself. "Let's go!"

Kicking the horse into motion, Sasuke galloped into the spacious passage that had been exposed by Deidara's blast.

…...

"Look, there's Suna!" Naruto shouted, pointing ahead. "Come on Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, hurry up!"

Sakura sighed, forcing more speed into her exhausted legs and using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun so that she could see Suna village in the distance. _How is he so energetic? We've been travelling for days!_

Tsunade had sent Sakura and Kakashi to Suna as soon as the emergency message had arrived from the other ninja village. From the sounds of it, there had been quite a battle; Sakura's medical skills would be much in demand, and Kakashi could use his tracking expertise to aid in searching for the abducted Kazekage.

Naruto hadn't officially been supposed to come along, but had followed the other two anyway. By the time Kakashi had noticed his presence it was too late to escort him back to Konoha, which would have been the only way to make sure he actually got there.

Sakura had to admit, Naruto wasn't a bad travelling companion, if a little hyperactive. But with their team back together like this, she couldn't help thinking that there should be four of them, not three.

A few minutes later, Kakashi and Sakura caught up to Naruto at the gate to Suna. After confirming their identities to the guards, the heavy gates were opened and the three Konoha shinobi entered the village.

It was obvious on first glance at the main square that there had been a massive fight there; a large chunk of the top floor of the Kazekage's headquarters had been ripped or blasted away, and a large number of the surrounding buildings were also in disrepair.

Sakura looked up at the ruined building, now surrounded by scaffolding to keep it intact while repairs were made. "Where are we supposed to go?" she asked.

"The village is currently being overseen from Kazekage-sama's residence," explained the chuunin who had escorted them from the gate. "I will show you there."

"Who is in charge right now?" Kakashi asked as they walked through the dusty streets.

"Temari-sama," the chuunin replied. "Kankurou-sama will join her in decision-making as soon as he has recovered."

"Recovered? What happened to him?" Sakura asked.

"You can ask Temari-sama that," the chuunin answered, motioning for them to stop. "We're here."

The house of the Kazekage was spacious but not opulent; Gaara was not the sort to house himself in unnecessary grandeur. After bring the visitors from Konoha to the door of what Sakura guessed was a parlor, the chuunin bowed and left.

"They're not very talkative around here, you know," Naruto remarked.

"What with the increased security and the searching for Gaara, there's probably not a shinobi here who's had enough sleep in a week," Kakashi pointed out, knocking on the door.

Sakura could hear quick footsteps crossing the room, then the door was opened. "Kakashi-sensei!" Shikamaru exclaimed, sounding happily surprised. "Sakura! Naruto! I knew some Konoha people would be coming, but I wasn't expecting you. Come inside."

Despite his cheery greeting, Sakura could tell that Shikamaru was exhausted—there were dark circles under his eyes and he was leaning a little too heavily on the doorframe as he spoke to them. His Konoha-issue vest was missing for some reason, and the loose Suna robe he was wearing to replace it fit him poorly.

Temari didn't look any better, Sakura realized as she followed Kakashi and Naruto into the large parlor. This was the first time Sakura had seen the other kunoichi since the Chuunin Exams, and she hadn't been sure what to expect. However, she definitely hadn't been expecting to see the blond girl lying on a couch, nestled in a blanket and with a bag of ice sitting on her head.

"Temari-san, what happened?" Sakura asked immediately, her medic instincts kicking into gear.

"Headache," Temari replied curtly, opening one eye and wincing at the light coming through the window. "Genjutsu. Ow."

"Shikamaru..." Sakura said, turning to him for further explanation.

"Temari has been a bit, uh...unwell, since last night," Shikamaru said quickly. "Do you remember that the message you received said that an Akatsuki member had been captured?"

Sakura nodded.

"Well, one of his friends came back for him last night. That's how Temari ended up like this."

[A/N: My typing sucked today for some reason...apologies for any typos I didn't catch!


	50. Part II, Chapter 13: Strategem

[A/N: Updates might be slow for a bit since I need to sort out some things. Also, I have a tumblr now, which I'm using to post some art I've made for my stories as well as blithering about other fannish things—you can find the link in my profile.]

Chapter 13: Strategem

Sakura quickly knelt next to the couch Temari was lying on, drawing some medical chakra to her hands. "I'm a medic, Temari-san," she explained quickly, moving the bag of ice so she could put her hand against the blonde kunoichi's forehead. "I can help."

As far as Sakura could tell, Temari hadn't been directly harmed by the genjutsu, but she had been under its influence for a prolonged period, leading to severe mental exhaustion. Also, it seemed that the genjutsu might at some point have begun feeding off of Temari's chakra—as if the genjutsu caster had been running out of their own—causing further strain.

What Temari really needed was more rest, but Sakura did what she could to relieve the headache and restore some of the chakra that had been leeched by the genjutsu.

After a short time, Temari sat up, pushing Sakura's hand away. "Okay, enough of that," she said. "There are others who need your help more than me." Opening her eyes fully, Temari surveyed her visitors. "Team Seven, was that it?" she asked.

"That's right!" Naruto replied. "The best ninjas in Konoha, at your service!"

"Mm-hmm, I'll bet. Now, I remember you two and Shikamaru from the Chuunin Exams, but then your team got split up for some reason...say, what happened to that other one?"

Sakura froze in the act of rising. "Other one?"

"You know, the scrawny little one who kept following you around in the Forest of Death like a lost puppy. Kind of cute, funny haircut, didn't know when to quit...he started out with a Getsu headband, but wasn't he actually a runaway Uchiha or something?"

"Oh, you mean Sasuke," Sakura said, trying to stay calm—_Temari's not being rude on purpose,_ she told herself. "We went on a mail run a few years back," she explained. "Things went wrong and we were ambushed. Sasuke...didn't make it out."

Sakura couldn't bring herself to say the word 'dead.' For the first year she had tried without success to convince herself that since Sasuke's body hadn't been found, perhaps there was a chance he had survived. As more time had passed with no sign of their teammate, she had been forced to realize that this was just wishful thinking, but there was still a small, stubborn part of her that wouldn't admit he was really gone.

"So that's what happened." Temari sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, wincing as she stood. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm going to go have a lie down—it hasn't been two minutes and I've already started upsetting our allies, so clearly I won't be much help to anybody for a while. Shikamaru can show you where you need to go and bring you up to date."

As Temari slowly left the room, muttering curses about the bright desert sun, Kakashi looked to Shikamaru, who was staring out the window at the street below. "Well?"

"What?...Oh! Right," Shikamaru said, snapping back to attentiveness with a nervous laugh.

This wasn't really like him to be so distracted, Sakura noted. While she knew that Shikamaru often looked like he was daydreaming or lost in thought, she had learned during their time on Team 7 that he never failed to take in what was going on around him. Probably he was sleep-deprived just like everyone in Suna seemed to be, and taking over for some of Temari's duties as stand-in to the Kazekage must have been exhausting as well.

"I'll take you over to the hospital, Sakura, and on the way I can give Kakashi and Naruto the information they'll need to chase down the people who took Gaara," Shikamaru said after a moment, motioning for the group of Konoha shinobi to follow him.

…...

"Why didn't you kill them?" Deidara asked as Sasuke stopped to give the horse some water from a well they passed. "That way you could have made sure that Konoha ninja wouldn't tell on you, un."

"Suna is short-handed enough at the moment with the pursuit for Sasori and Gaara," Sasuke said, beginning the explanation he had been thinking up in the half-day since they escaped the ninja village. "Right now, they don't have any reason to take more people away from guarding the city to hunt us down. If we had killed an ambassador, not to mention the Kazekage's sister, they would be a lot more likely to come after us."

"I guess so," Deidara said, not sounding quite convinced. "That's not really the way I've ever done things, though."

"I've noticed," Sasuke said dryly, patting the horse's neck as it drank. "You do tend to rush into things without looking. For example, _breakrooms in the Kazekage's headquarters._ Where enemy ninja ambush you, and then _I_ have to walk a hundred miles through the desert to come bail you out!" The splash as Sasuke dropped the bucket back into the well for more water only served to punctuate his tirade.

"Wow, someone sounds a bit upset," Deidara remarked.

"No kidding," Sasuke snorted.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

"Sorry you caused me all this trouble, or sorry you got tied to a chair and beat up by a girl?"

"Come on, I'm trying to be nice here!" Deidara complained. "At least you don't have a concussion and a broken arm!"

"Oh okay, it would help some," Sasuke conceded, deciding that Deidara had probably had a bad enough experience during the last week without Sasuke making it worse by insulting him. "But you still owe me one," he added firmly as he closed the canteen he had filled from the well. "Let's go, we have a long way until we can meet up with Sasori."

…...

By the time the group of Konoha shinobi arrived at Suna's main hospital, Shikamaru had brought them up to speed on just about everything that had happened. From the sound of it, he and Temari had been through a lot; he was lucky not to have been injured during Deidara's escape. Shikamaru wouldn't tell them much about the actual fight, although Sakura wasn't entirely surprised at that. It sounded as if the Akatsuki member Shikamaru and Temari had been fighting was the same one who had attacked Kakashi in the library—Kakashi hadn't wanted to dwell on what happened either.

Since Gaara's abduction by Deidara and his partner or partners a week prior (it was still somewhat unclear how many of the Akatsuki had been involved in the operation), Suna shinobi had been searching extensively for him. However, since he had been taken away by air, the trackers had been unsuccessful in finding anything other than a general direction. Considering how long it had been he could have been taken as far as several countries away by now.

"And what do you want me to do here?" Sakura asked after they had signed into the hospital.

"The Akatsuki used poison gas when they captured Gaara," Shikamaru explained. "Many other Suna ninja were caught in it and most have recovered, but Kankurou was exposed much longer. He's still in a very bad way; the doctors here have been unable to help him yet."

Sakura nodded, mentally beginning to run over poison removal procedure and all the antidotes she knew. If the poison used wasn't something horribly obscure, Tsunade had taught her enough that she could vary her technique for whatever it was composed of. "Show me to him."

Kankurou's room was located on the second floor of the hospital. Shikamaru took her to the door, then left with Kakashi and Naruto, who were going to help coordinate continued search efforts for Gaara. After a brief discussion with one of the nurses on duty, Sakura entered the hospital room.

After the Chuunin exams, Sakura had only encountered Kankurou once, when he had accompanied his brother on a state visit to Konoha shortly after Gaara's appointment as the Kazekage. Sakura had found him little less intimidating despite the fact that Suna and Konoha were now allies rather than enemies, and even though they had been in the same area for several days as Gaara conferred with Tsunade, she had done no more than exchange a few niceties with Kankurou.

Suppressing the slight apprehension she still felt, Sakura approached the bed Kankurou was lying on. Without the heavy facepaint Sakura remembered he looked much less dangerous, and when she realized how badly he was struggling to breathe any grudges she might have held against him vanished.

…...

"So what's the plan, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto demanded. Shikamaru had left them in a breakroom while he went to fetch things that Kakashi's dogs could use to track Gaara and his captors. It had only taken a few minutes for Naruto to get tired of waiting patiently in a chair, and he was currently perched on the edge of an air-hockey table. From the look of it, he was trying to figure out if it could be operated with a Rasengan (thereby saving the ten-ryo fee).

Kakashi decided conversation was as good a method as any to get Naruto's mind of that before he ended up responsible for any property damage perpetrated by his student. "We're going to do the best we can to find where Gaara was taken, then relay that information back to Suna so they can alert search parties already in the field."

"What, we aren't going to rescue Gaara? I thought that was the whole point of this, you know!"

"We'll do all we can, but Tsunade has ordered me not to engage the Akatsuki again until we have more information about their genjutsu user." Because of how easily Kakashi had been brought down during the library raid, Tsunade was justifiably worried about a situation where Kakashi could be truly forced to turn against his compatriots, instead of merely being made to think he had.

Kakashi winced as he unwillingly found himself recalling what had transpired in the genjutsu. _I won't let anything like that happen_, he told himself firmly. He could not deny, however, that there had been trusting comrades he had betrayed: Obito, Rin...Sasuke.

Sasuke had grown up as a renegade ninja, with no one to confide in or rely on. When he had been unwillingly inducted into the ranks of Konoha ninja, Sasuke had been guarded and wary of everyone around him except a very few, and Kakashi had not been one of them. Sasuke had eventually come to trust Kakashi and respect him as a teacher, but no sooner did that happen than Kakashi forsook that trust.

If Sasuke had survived being abandoned in the snowy mountains of Iron Country, Kakashi had no doubt that his former student would hate him until the day he died. _I can't say that I blame him, either_, Kakashi mused. _Sakura and Naruto probably would too, if they found out._

"Kakashi-sensei," Shikamaru said as he entered the room and interrupted Kakashi's regretful thoughts, "I have the things you'll need to track Gaara."

Kakashi had tried a couple times to get Shikamaru to stop calling him 'Kakashi-sensei'—he wasn't Kakashi's student anymore after all, and it seemed a bit rude to Asuma that his student was still acknowledging another teacher. So far though, Shikamaru had refused to break the habit.

"Let's have a look then," Kakashi said, walking over to examine the items that Shikamaru had spread on the card table. "I take it this jacket is Gaara's?" he asked, indicating a red garment, one side of which was badly frayed and torn.

"Yes, it was found in the office afterwards; he had been wearing it at dinner, but he must have taken it off while he was working. It got pretty messed up during the fight."

"What about the rest?"

"The cloak is from the Akatsuki prisoner; if he meets up with the one who took Gaara it could be helpful. This chunk of clay is from the flying bird construct—Kankurou managed to get hold of it before the poison took him down."

"And the shoes?"

"A spare pair of Gaara's, in case you need something besides the jacket."

"Good job," Kakashi said, preparing to summon his pack of dogs. "This is just what I'll need."

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed, tiring of attempting to hack the air hockey table and running over to the others. "Where's the ramen machine?"

"Ramen machine?" Shikamaru repeated.

"Yeah, the one you talked about in the letter!"

"Naruto, I said there was_ free_ ramen, not a ramen_ machine_. The cup ramen is in the cabinet over there, but until the situation with Gaara and the Akatsuki is resolved Suna is conserving water: you can't have any yet."

Naruto gasped in horror. "Kakashi, hurry up! We've got to save Gaara—I need some ramen!"

[A/N: School's starting up soon, which will certainly affect my updating schedule. We're getting to a section where I should be able to write faster, though.]


	51. Part II, Chapter 14: Mending Relations

Chapter 14: Mending Relations

Once Sasuke and Deidara made it safely past the borders of Wind country, they stopped in a small town to recover for a couple days before continuing on to the location the Leader had designated. Sasori had not made any effort to contact them and Sasuke had reciprocated the silence; at this point making contact could do more harm than good if anyone was following them. Sasori's destination was the same as theirs anyway so they would be meeting him soon enough. If anything, he would probably arrive there ahead of them.

At this time, there was still no sign of pursuit from Suna. Sasuke hoped that this meant his hunch was right and that Suna was choosing to prioritize retrieving their abducted Kazekage over capturing an escaped prisoner.

Currently, Sasuke and Deidara were holed up in a much better inn than they usually would be allowed to stay at—it had been the only lodging available in the small town. Even though it didn't appear they were being followed, Sasuke had shielded their room liberally with genjutsu to prevent anyone from detecting their presence.

It was a clear night, with a full moon. The cool air was much of an improvement over the hot, sand-choked air they had been breathing in the desert, and Sasuke decided he would indulge and leave the window open (after rigging a few explosive tags outside in case anyone tried to sneak in on them).

Deidara was already asleep in one of the beds; he had practically collapsed as soon as they made it into the room. While he had done a good job of hiding his discomfort during their flight from Suna, Sasuke could tell that the older teen was in a much worse way than he was letting on. The head and deprivation could have done nothing to alleviate the concussion he'd gained from Temari's beating, and his broken arm still hadn't been treated other than Sasuke's quick splinting job a few days before.

Sasuke sighed and stretched, discovering just how sore he was from riding such a distance and at such a speed; while he could ride well enough, it was not an activity he engaged in often. The thrashing he'd taken at Gaara's hands had its toll as well; his neck and arm were badly bruised where Gaara's sand had caught him and there was a sharp pain in his back as he bent over to remove his sandals.

"Note to self: never _ever_ attack a container alone again," Sasuke muttered, tossing the sandals down by the nightstand and dropping his cloak on top of them before gladly climbing into bed. After a good rest, hopefully he would have recovered enough chakra to heal himself and Deidara.

The cool sheets and soft pillow felt heavenly, and Sasuke could feel himself beginning to drift off to sleep almost before he managed to pull the covers up. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let himself relax fully.

Sasuke opened his eyes as the room suddenly began to feel very hot—not desert hot, but flame hot. Blinking as the heat stung his eyes, he looked around and realized that his surroundings had changed; while he could still see a full moon hanging in the red-tinged sky outside, the room he was sitting in was traditionally appointed and there was no sign of Deidara.

_I haven't had this dream in years,_ Sasuke thought as he recognized the location. _Why now..._

He could feel heat as if from flames but there was no sign of a fire in this room. The hallway he remembered from the last time he had entered this genjutsu-dream world was still there, and the heat seemed to be radiating from that direction.

Sasuke stood tentatively; from what he remembered this place had a tendency to vanish whenever he tried to get anywhere in it. When he took a few steps forward, the hallway was still there and wasn't running away from him or anything, so he decided to explore as much as he could.

A slight scent of smoke behind him made him turn to look back—the places where he had stepped were charred and smoking, and small flames were still licking at the closest set.

_That's definitely new._ Looking down at where he was standing, Sasuke could see a soft glow under his feet. _It doesn't seem like it's going to burn me, but I might as well keep moving._

Leaving a trail of footprints branded into the floor behind him, Sasuke progressed further into the house. It was the same as it had been before, as far as he could tell, but it felt different since he was taller now.

Once he made it a little ways into the hallway he could see the door at the other end, open just a crack as it was the last time he had been in this place. Sasuke hurried his steps, wanting to reach the door before the dream ended—he'd never managed to get that far before.

The door stayed where it was, and Sasuke grabbed the latch to pull it open.

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting to see; something grand or significant-looking, probably. The room was neither of those things, just a neat, simple bedroom: a ninja's room, with weapon racks on the walls and a shelf full of books on techniques.

Sasuke didn't pay attention to any of that, instead focused on the familiar figure seated on the bed. "Nii-san!" he gasped, taking a step forward and reaching out. Itachi turned his way just as a blisteringly hot curtain of flame sprang up between them, making Sasuke jump back.

_Did he see me? If Itachi is here, does that mean that he's having this dream as well, or did my mind just put him there? _"Itachi?" Sasuke called again._ The dream always ends with everything burning, there's not much time left now._

"Otouto? Sasuke, are you there?"

Itachi's voice sounded distorted by the flames separating them, but Sasuke still recognized it instantly. "Yes, I'm right here!" he answered.

"Sasuke? Sasuke, where are you?"

_He can't hear me,_ Sasuke realized. There was a nervous edge to Itachi's voice, like Sasuke remembered from a few times when he had gotten lost and Itachi had been calling for him. Not quite panicky, but very strained, as if he was about to do something drastic.

"Sasuke, don't go—"

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke ran forward and vaulted through the flames—only to begin falling through black, empty space. Sasuke twisted as he fell so that he could look upwards, but all that was left of the room was flames.

"Sasuke!"

…...

"Aniki! Wha—ow!"

Sasuke blinked, a bit disoriented after his heavy landing. He was back in the rented room now, lying on the hardwood floor with the blankets tangled around him. When he looked up, there was sun shining in his eyes from the open window.

Sighing, Sasuke began freeing himself from the blankets, still thinking over the events of the dream. _If that actually meant anything, then I've got to find Itachi soon. He wouldn't be acting like that unless something were really, really wrong._

Sasuke had almost loosened the blankets enough to rise when a pair of sandalled feet entered his currently restricted range of vision. "Was that about your brother, un?" Deidara asked.

"What would you know about it?" Sasuke snapped, kicking free of the blanket and scrambling to his feet so he could glare down at Deidara. The blond had never acted so chummy before and Sasuke wasn't about to tolerate him prying, even if they had been through quite a bit together in the past several days.

Deidara shrugged. "Well, I must say I'm better supplied on the siblings front," he said, heading back towards the kitchenette. "I made food if you want any, un."

It only took the mention of food for Sasuke to remember how hungry he was—by the time the two Akatsuki members had made it out of the desert, the small amount of food Sasuke had in an emergency storage scroll had been exhausted for more than a day. When he entered the kitchen, however, Sasuke began to rethink this position. "I thought you said _food,_ not ramen," he protested as he saw the two steaming cups of instant ramen sitting on the counter.

"So what do you want me to do, cook?" Deidara retorted. "You heard what Sasori said the last time I tried that, un."

Sasuke had not been present for that exact incident, but he seen the explosion and arrived in time for the aftermath, in which Sasori informed Deidara (after digging him out of the wreckage of their hotel) that he was barred from making anything that wasn't precooked. "But there wasn't anything else besides ramen?" Sasuke persisted.

"It was this or some kind of wasabi Pocky abomination," Deidara said. "That was all the vending machine outside had left."

Sasuke sighed in exaggerated disgust but picked up a cup of ramen anyway, too hungry to do more than wrinkle his nose at the taste as he ate. It wasn't until it was almost half gone that he realized how much trouble Deidara was having—since he only had one good arm, Deidara was struggling to maneuver both his utensils and the cup of ramen. So far, he'd only managed to take a few bites.

Probing his levels of available chakra, Sasuke decided he had recovered enough to heal Deidara properly. After all, it would be much easier to make it to the rendezvous point if he wasn't stuck with an injured teammate.

"Let me see your arm," Sasuke said, setting down the empty cup of ramen and pulling a chair up to the counter so Deidara could sit down.

Deidara winced as Sasuke undid the makeshift pencil splint and rolled up his sleeve so he could see how bad the injury really was. "Ow! What was that for, un?" he yelped as Sasuke began to poke at his forearm.

"Hold still, I need to find out where it's broken," Sasuke explained.

"Fine, but does it have to hurt so much?"

Sasuke fished through his pockets to see if he had any pain-relief pills left but came up empty—he'd only had a few in the first place and had given them all to Deidara during the escape from Suna. Since he couldn't do anything directly for the pain, he decided to try distraction. "What'd you mean when you said you were better supplied with siblings than I was?" he asked.

"Oh, right. That...might not have been the best way to phrase it, un," Deidara said. "What I meant is that I've got a whole lot of sisters," he clarified, making an expansive gesture. "Like, um, ten I think. Or it might be twelve now, I haven't been able to keep track since I left."

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement. He had found the break now, and prepared to bring the edges of the bone into place so that he could begin mending them. "Why did you leave?"

"I left so they couldn't marry me off for my dowry," Deidara replied a little hesitantly. "They had the contract all drawn up and everything so I skipped out and I _swear_ if you laugh I will blast you, un!"

"Who's laughing?" Sasuke said, and pushed.

Deidara cried out in pain but, to Sasuke's relief, managed to keep still. "Can't you warn somebody before you do that?" Deidara protested shakily.

"Sorry," Sasuke replied curtly, letting his chakra flow out around his hands so he could begin making the bone reknit. "Won't be much longer now."

Deidara's ulna had broken relatively cleanly, and the radius was intact. Sasuke had worried that the injury would worsen or become infected, but that did not seem to be the case, making the treatment much less involved. "How did this happen, anyway?"

"Tried to block Temari's fan when she hit me with it. Bad idea, very bad. I don't think they realized it was broken—I was out cold when they chained me up, un. Almost done?"

"One more minute should do it," Sasuke replied. "But don't do anything too strenuous for a few days; I don't want to have to fix this up again."

"Don't worry, I've had enough of being a lefty for a while, un," Deidara said when Sasuke let go of his arm, satisfied that he had fixed the break to the best of his abilities. "Oh, I found something of Shikamaru's you might want to see," Deidara added, stretching his newly-healed arm before reaching into an inner pocket of the Konoha vest he was still wearing.

[A/N: I bet you thought I forgot about Sasuke's trippy dreams, right? Due to some changes in the outline, I haven't had occasion to put one in for a while. Also, every single thing about Deidara and the Deidara clan is my made-up background for him—for more information, you can read the much sillier story 'In Which Deidara is a Girl.']


	52. Part II, Chapter 15: Tipping the Balance

[A/N: This chapter took a bit longer because I decided that the second half would work better in the next chapter and then had to write more to make this one long enough.]

Chapter 15: Tipping the Balance

"Oh, and what might that be?" Sasuke said, trying not to sound too interested as he took the small card Deidara had pulled out of one of the pockets of Shikamaru's vest. Flipping it over, he realized it was a photograph—not of Shikamaru's current team, but of the original Team 7 and Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned briefly, trying to remember when it had been taken. From the ramen couch he could see a corner of in the background, they must have been in Naruto's apartment. The four children in the picture were pressed together in order to fit, and from the angle it looked like Sakura had been holding the camera out in front of her.

_Oh, that's right. It was her idea in the first place, anyway._

…...

Team 7 and Sasuke—who they currently knew as Satoshi Ken—had just completed the second stage of the Chuunin Exams and were eating a well-earned meal in Naruto's apartment. Naruto hadn't done any of the cooking, but had helpfully stayed out of Sakura's way as she fixed rice and tempura and heated up some of the dishes her mother had sent with her.

Sasuke was a little uneasy about being so close to the Konoha team now that they didn't have a strategic reason to stay together. Now that they were free from the tension of the Forest of Death, the others might begin asking questions he couldn't answer, or even recognize him from their previous encounter in River Country. He had agreed to stay with Naruto because he was fairly sure the blond was the least likely to remember him, but he wouldn't feel really safe until Shikamaru and Sakura left.

"Hey boys, I've got a great idea!" Sakura announced once most of the food was gone, taking something out of the box she had brought the food in.

"Is that a polaroid?" Naruto asked, snatching for it. "Neat, where'd you get it?"

"I borrowed it from my mother, so don't touch! I remember what happened to that toaster we loaned you."

"Nobody ever told me you can't toast bread once it's buttered!" Naruto protested, but Sakura disregarded him.

"_Anyway,_ I figured that since we made it this far, we should take a commemorative photo!" Sakura declared, beaming.

Sasuke quietly set his empty bowl down on the table and began backing towards the living room. He couldn't afford to be in any photographs—that just made it all the more likely that he would be recognized. What if Team 7's teacher were to see? So far he had managed to stay away from the man, but if he ended up in a photograph it would ruin all his efforts to avoid detection.

"That's a great idea, Sakura-chan!" Naruto quickly agreed.

"No it isn't," Shikamaru protested. "Remember our team photo? It'll be that all over again."

"If you'd been looking at the camera instead of being distracted by the clouds, it would have turned out great," Sakura pointed out. "And there aren't any clouds here, so I think we're fine."

Shikamaru sighed but let Sakura pull him to his feet.

"Can I be next to you, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Sure thing," Sakura said. "Oh, Ken-kun! Come over here, we can't leave you out."

"N-no, it's fine," Sasuke protested. "You're the team, after all, I don't want to get in the way..."

"You're not in the way!" Naruto insisted, pouncing on Sasuke and nearly dragging him back to the group.

Sasuke ended up standing between Shikamaru and Naruto as Sakura got the camera ready. "Okay, keep close together everybody! And one...two...three!"

Sasuke turned his head away just before the flash, so that his bangs would hide his face. Naruto didn't notice since he was busy hugging Sakura, and Shikamaru had never bothered to look at the camera in the first place.

"Come on, Shikamaru, you might at least try," Sakura cajoled once the picture had developed enough for her to see it. "Please? You too, Ken, I know you're shy but I really do want a picture of you..."

_That's the last thing I want_, Sasuke thought. Still, continuing to avoid the photo would only make him appear more suspicious, so he made himself look into the camera as Sakura took another picture.

It took three more tries before Sakura was satisfied: the next photo was rejected because "You really should be smiling, Ken. Haven't you ever had your picture taken before?"

The one after that didn't pass muster because "Shikamaru! It doesn't count as facing the camera if your eyes aren't even open!"

"There, that one's perfect!" Sakura stated finally, and Sasuke and Shikamaru both breathed sighs of relief. "I'll have some copies made and then we can all have one," she said, holding the picture out so all of them could see.

…...

Sasuke surveyed the picture slowly, marvelling a little at how young they had all looked then, before everything started to go wrong. Sakura was at one end, smiling warmly; Naruto was next to her with one arm around her shoulders and an ecstatic grin on his face; Sasuke himself wasn't quite fully facing the camera, and had a tentative half-smile; and Shikamaru was smirking lazily as he looked into the lens with surprising intensity.

Sasuke was a bit surprised that Shikamaru had kept such a sentimental item—his own copy was long gone, he was sure. Sakura hadn't had the time to make the copies until after the exams were over, at which point Sasuke had pinned it up on the wall of the room the Inuzukas had given him. He had seen no reason to take it with him on the fateful trip to the Land of Iron, and the Inuzukas had probably disposed of it and the rest of his things afterwards.

_I should just get rid of it,_ Sasuke thought, gathering the small amount of chakra that would be needed to turn the photograph into cinders._ I don't need anything that's going to remind me of them. What would Sasori think?_

Still, he couldn't quite bring himself to burn the picture. Finally, he put it in an inner pocket of his cloak, near the pocket holding the scroll of secret files. _It seems I'm carrying a lot of secrets around lately._

"Enough rest," Sasuke announced once Deidara had finished eating. "If we hurry, we can meet up with Sasori by tomorrow. Let's go."

The two Akatsuki members turned the horse loose after they left the little town where they had spent the night; where they were going now, the animal would only get in the way. It had served them well, and Sasuke hoped that whoever found it would take good care of it.

Once they made it out of the town, Sasuke and Deidara took to the trees so they could travel faster. The place the Leader had designated to use for extracting the demon from Gaara was in River Country; this was closer to Konoha than Sasuke wanted to be anytime soon, but orders were orders. From their current location, it wouldn't take them more than a day to make it there.

Sasuke considered asking Deidara to make a bird to fly them there, but decided against it. While his teammate was nearly back to his old self now (annoyance with his younger partner and all), his chakra was still badly depleted. He would probably need all he could spare for whatever the Leader had in store.

Deidara's stamina also left something to be desired at the moment, and therefore Sasuke was forced to take frequent breaks which delayed their progress. This was a little worrisome: by this point, their path and the one Sasori would have taken were near overlapping, which meant that anyone following Sasori's trail had a chance of catching up to them.

The slower pace Sasuke had to set for Deidara, along with the regular stops to rest, meant that they took longer to arrive at the rendezvous point that Sasuke had originally estimated. It was late the next morning by the time the two Akatsuki members stopped in the river canyon.

"Are you here, Sasori?" Sasuke called as he entered the cave with Deidara following.

"No thanks to you," Sasori's bored voice replied. Sasuke turned toward the sound and saw the puppet master lounging on the back of Deidara's bird. Gaara's inert body lay on the ground underneath the bird's beak. "I've been waiting for days," Sasori added accusingly, jumping down from the bird. "Hurry up, we need to get this started or the Leader will be most upset."

"Just a minute, let me get at my stuff, un," Deidara said, running over to the bird. Sasuke followed; while he had kept some essentials with him, such as the scroll full of secrets, he had left most of his things behind when he went to rescue Deidara. After running around in the desert for a week, he wasn't about to say no to a fresh shirt.

…...

A short time later, the massive statue that would soon imprison the beast currently contained by Gaara had been summoned. Its huge form took up a good two-thirds of the space within the cave—because of the sheer size of it, the usual Akatsuki rendezvous points could not be used, which was why the Leader had chosen this cave, one of the largest in the area. Deidara's bird was sitting in the center of the cave floor. Compared to the huge stone hands surrounding it, it barely seemed bigger than a hummingbird.

Sasuke and Deidara watched over Gaara as they waited for the others to 'arrive.' The Leader had been the first to appear along with the statue, a transmission of his silhouette taking shape on one of the fingers of the statue's outstretched hands.

Currently, Sasori was perched next to the Leader as the two of them discussed something. Sasuke watched, wishing he could read their lips well enough to know what they were talking about since they were too far away from him to hear. For all he knew, Sasori could be informing the Leader of the insubordinate tendencies Sasuke had been showing lately.

On the ground next to the bird's feet, Gaara twitched suddenly, and Sasuke's attention was entirely focused on the Suna jinchuuriki until he was certain that Gaara wouldn't regain consciousness fast enough to be a threat before the removal of the Tailed Beast commenced.

Sasuke frowned slightly as he remembered again what exactly the removal of the Tailed Beast involved: there was no possibility of Gaara's surviving the procedure. Moreover, his death would be Sasuke's responsibility, just as surely as if he had killed him back in Suna.

Sasuke found that he didn't like that thought in the slightest. True, he had killed before in the service of the Akatsuki, but only in the heat of battle or when it could not otherwise be avoided. This was vastly different, the premeditated murder of a helpless captive. If one believed in the ideals the Leader preached, it could perhaps be justified—but Sasuke had joined the Akatsuki to find his brother, not because he ascribed to their ideals.

As Sasori moved away from the Leader's image, Deidara also took his place on the statue, but Sasuke did not yet follow them. Jumping off of the bird, he looked down at Gaara for a moment.

Gaara had saved his life once: if Sasuke paid him back for that kindness by helping to kill him, that would be a step Sasuke's moral code wasn't likely to survive. But if he didn't, not only could he forget about having any help from the Akatsuki in his search for Itachi, but they would be after his blood as a traitor besides.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke began to plan out his next steps.

Above Sasuke, the transmitted forms of other members of the Akatsuki were appearing in their places. "You're keeping us waiting, Sasuke," Konan called reprovingly, her voice distorted by the transmission technique.

"Just a moment," Sasuke replied. "Before that, though, I wanted to ask the Leader something."

"What." The Leader's voice was clipped and curt; obviously he was not in the least pleased by the delay.

"Have you found any information on my brother lately?" Sasuke inquired, keeping his tone light and amiable.

"Sasuke, this is not the time."

"Then what is? I get the chance to speak to you so rarely, after all. If I didn't know better, I might even think you were keeping something secret from me. Anyway, I'll ask again: what do you know of my brother?"

The Leader sighed, and Sasuke winced inwardly at how upset he sounded when he spoke. "Currently, nothing more than what I have already given you, but we have hidden nothing—"

"_Enough!_" Sasuke shouted, and was immediately surprised at his own outburst. _Can't back out now,_ he thought. _If this doesn't go my way it's over._ "I'm not a child anymore—I'm not going to run errands for you in return for a few petty clues that lead nowhere! I joined you because you promised to help me find him, but so far I might as well have been searching myself. If you haven't anything better to offer, I don't see what I'm doing here, to be honest."

"If you're quite finished with your little speech, Sasuke, we will discuss this later," the Leader snapped. "I'm sure we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement."

_Oh sure, like the one that got him an Uchiha at his beck and call for three years while I got barely anything in return._ "You know," Sasuke said airily, beginning to pace back and forth in front of Gaara, "No-one seems to have figured out yet that I'm standing in front of the biggest bargaining chip in the room."

Deidara gasped, and there were shocked murmurs from the other Akatsuki members, although these were too indistinct to make out through the transmission.

"You wouldn't, Sasuke." The Leader sounded calmly sure of himself, and it was that surety that hardened Sasuke's new resolution.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Sasuke could see Sasori moving in his peripheral vision, but before the puppet master could even make it all the way down the arm of the statue, Sasuke whipped out his short sword again, holding the point of it above Gaara's heart. "It took quite a lot of effort to finally catch the first of the Containers, didn't it? Wouldn't it be a pity if something were to happen and ruin all your hard work?" Sasuke stared icily up at the Leader, not allowing his gaze to waver in the slightest. "This is the last time I'm going to ask: _where is my brother?_"


	53. Part II, Chapter 16: Tangled Web

[A/N: I'm really sorry I've neglected my writing for so long. I was too busy with school to write and then I went and completely switched fandoms (to Doctor Who and Sherlock, which are great fun—expect crossovers) in order to get a bit of a change. This section of the plot is also one of the most logistically complicated, so I've had a lot of trouble sorting out who's going where and running into each other, which resulted in continual rewriting. Please note, most if not all of this chapter is concurrent with events of the previous chapter.]

Chapter 16: Tangled Web

"Itachi-sama?"

Itachi looked up from his reading as his door was quietly pushed open a crack. "Kimimaro. What is it?"

Kimimaro opened the door fully so he could enter Itachi's bare room. "Orochimaru-sama was supposed to arrive in a week, but it has been more than ten days now. Should we investigate?"

Itachi shook his head, having already guessed what Orochimaru's aims were for this visit—the Sannin wanted him to be off his guard, and lying about the timeframe had been intended to accomplish that. "It's not worth worrying about at this point. We should be making ready for his arrival instead."

The white-haired boy's eyes lit up immediately. "You're right," he said quickly, muffling a cough with the sleeve of his white robe. "I will go and prepare a suitable greeting for Orochimaru-sama."

The door closed behind Kimimaro mere moments later, and Itachi smiled marginally as he returned to his reading. If it weren't the infamous Orochimaru that Kimimaro was so devoted to, his dedication would be admirable. As it was, it made him very easy to manipulate.

As Orochimaru's 'apprentice' (Itachi knew what Orochimaru really wanted, not that he would let on to that), Kimimaro had quickly begun regarding Itachi with the same esteem that he did Orochimaru. Itachi put up with the affection but tried not to encourage it too much—considering his track record, befriending Itachi was probably one of the worst things Kimimaro could do for himself. In any case, Itachi was working for Orochimaru to get his vengeance on Konoha, not to make friends.

And if Orochimaru's actions were anything to go by, Itachi's opportunity to do that was likely to come very soon. "Took him long enough," Itachi murmured, setting the scroll aside in order to take his own advice and prepare for Orochimaru's arrival. _Be patient, Sasuke_, he thought, looking towards the sole photograph on the wall._ You won't have to wait for me much more._

After briefly straightening up his own room, Itachi headed out into the main area of the facility to make sure that Karin was preparing Orochimaru's personal room and laboratory. Generally, Itachi tried to avoid the red-headed lab tech—she was a bit...over-infatuated with him, to say the least. During the course of the past few years she had slowly gotten it through her head that he hadn't the slightest interest in her, but that didn't stop her from trying to flirt whenever they ended up in the same room.

Now was one of those times, unfortunately. "Itachi-sama, did you come to see _me_?" Karin simpered, bending over her desk with the pretence of grabbing a notebook and making her jacket gape just-so.

Itachi ignored the display. Even if he had been interested in...that sort of thing, Karin was no older than his little brother was—_would have been,_ Itachi reminded himself—so even the thought of it just felt wrong. "I didn't some to see you, I came to give you instructions," he said curtly, making Karin pout at his cold demeanour. "Orochimaru will be here very soon; make sure his chambers are ready."

"If I have some free time after that, maybe—" Itachi didn't hear the rest of Karin's statement, as he had already exited her office.

Itachi had barely made it into the hall when he was accosted by Kimimaro again. "They're here!" the white-haired boy exclaimed in excitement before regaining some control of himself. "I mean," he said more calmly, "Orochimaru-sama has arrived."

…

"How close are we, Pakkun?" Kakashi asked, ducking a low-hanging branch as he jumped for the next tree. He and Naruto had been travelling along the Akatsuki's trail for the past two days, and sometime last night they had passed the end of the desert and crossed into River Country.

Pakkun squirmed in Naruto's arms so that he could sniff at the wind—he had cut a paw badly on some sharp rocks in the desert, so Naruto and Kakashi were taking turns carrying him. "Very close," the little dog announced. "Do you have a plan for when we get there?"

"We have orders," Kakashi reminded his two companions. "Once we find them, I'm going to relay that information back to Suna, then we keep an eye on them until further notice."

"But Kakashi-sensei—" Naruto began to protest, but Kakashi cut him off.

"Much as I know you would like to help your friend, Naruto, there are only two of us, and you don't even count because if I let you get within spitting distance of the Akatsuki Tsunade will eviscerate me when we get back."

Naruto stopped protesting audibly after that, but Kakashi could still hear him mumbling and catch the occasional phrase, such as_ "spoilsport Hokage," _and_ "how am I supposed to be Konoha's Number One Surprising Ninja if I don't even get the chance to surprise anyone?"_

After about another hour and a half, Pakkun's ears pricked up suddenly. Seeing the movement, Kakashi stopped at the next suitably sized branch he landed on, then grabbed Naruto's arm before he could leap past.

Naruto yelped as he landed hard on the branch. "Ow! Sensei, wha—"

Kakashi motioned for him to be quiet and pointed down into the river canyon they had just arrived on the edge of. "We're here," he announced.

…

After two days, Kankuro's condition had improved enough for him to be released from the hospital, leaving Sakura with little to do since all of the other poisoning victims had recovered long before. Temari had also resumed her status as interim Kazekage, and once Kankuro joined her Shikamaru had nothing to occupy himself with either.

However, Shikamaru was perfectly content to remain this way—or at least, he acted like it. Since they had been taking their meals together ever since Sakura's team arrived in Suna, she had had ample opportunity to study his behaviour, and while he was putting up a good front, she was fairly sure something was bothering him.

Although Shikamaru was a quiet person by nature, he generally had nothing against conversing if someone else initiated it. Now, though, he seemed much more tense and closed than usual, and whenever Sakura tried to talk about what he had been doing in Suna, he shifted the course of the conversation so that Sakura found herself talking about how things were in Konoha. Still, she couldn't quite convince herself it was intentional—of course he would want to know how his friends were, Naruto never wrote letters and Sakura had been far too busy to send more than one or two.

Two days after Kakashi and Naruto's departure, Sakura decided she had had enough. After tidying up the room that Temari had lent her, she headed for the sitting room that was currently serving as an office; the Kazekage's headquarters had been badly burned and the structural damage was bad enough that it was not expected to be usable again for several months.

"Come in," Temari called at Sakura's knock.

Sakura took a deep breath before pushing the door open. While the Kazekage's siblings had been nothing but hospitable, she still couldn't quite shake the memories of what had happened during the Chuunin exams; the Suna team had nearly slaughtered Team 7 twice over, and it would take a long time for Sakura to get over the defensive instinct that rose up whenever she felt their chakra.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything…" Sakura began as she entered. Since Temari and Kankuro were not as used to governing as Gaara had been, it took them much more work to accomplish the same results and they were very busy.

"Oh no, we just finished," Temari said, depositing an enormous pile of folders in Kankuro's arms and giving him a push towards the door, which Sakura held open for him. "What can I do for you?"

"It's time for me to return to Konoha—and I think Shikamaru should come with me."

Temari frowned a little. "He still has a little more than a month left on his posting here," she pointed out.

"I know," Sakura replied, "but I think he's more needed in Konoha now. With the Akatsuki going after the...you know...it's only a matter of time before they come to Konoha again. And when they do, we'll need all the help we can get."

"You do make some very good points," Temari said with a slight sigh. "Shikamaru has been of great assistance to us since Gaara was taken, but now that Kankuro's back on his feet I suppose it would be hardly fair to make him stay here while Konoha's in danger. Tell me what supplies you need and I'll help you get on your way."

…

Itachi took a few minutes to compose himself before following Kimimaro to the entrance of the underground facility. Orochimaru did not trust him, had never trusted him no matter how many times he claimed he did, but at this late stage in the game Itachi wanted nothing less than to give him a good reason for the distrust. Of course there were reasons, but what his mentor didn't know...only made Itachi's plans more likely to work.

By this point, though, Itachi was beginning to find it difficult to hold back his impatience. He'd had enough of training and sitting in the dark, he just wanted to be _done_ with it all: Orochimaru, Konoha, himself—everything.

_Calm down, it will all be over soon,_ he told himself firmly, reining himself in enough to bow slightly and offer appropriately deferential greetings as Orochimaru entered.

"Karin will have your laboratory ready shortly," Itachi said as they walked down the hall toward the main part of the facility. "Is there anything—"

"Oh, there's no need for that, Itachi-kun," Orochimaru cut him off. "I actually came here to meet with you; I haven't seen you in _months,_ after all."

"Is that so," Itachi replied mildly, since Orochimaru seemed to expect a reply.

"Yes, now come along," Orochimaru continued, taking Itachi arm in an unnervingly firm grip and pulling him along the corridor. If he had wanted to, Itachi could have shaken the Sannin off, but it would have taken some effort and he had to appear compliant for now.

Kabuto had gone on ahead somewhere, and Kimimaro trailed dolefully behind them; Orochimaru had taken no notice of the teenager's presence, and Itachi knew how much that must have hurt him. Now that Orochimaru had a higher-quality vessel, there was no longer any place for Kimimaro, and judging by the worsening state of his illness the white-haired boy would probably be dead before anyone bothered to inform him of the fact. Itachi did his best to be kind to Kimimaro when he had the time and inclination to bother, but generally he was too busy with his own planning and research.

Besides, at this point the last thing Itachi wanted was to start forming attachments again—wasn't that what had ruined everything in the first place?

[A/N: If you're wondering about the chapter title, it does kind of represent the chapter, I guess, but mostly my thoughts were along the lines of 'oh what a tangled web we weave when first we add a whole ton of stuff to the story and then forget to allow for it in the outline, you dope,' which is a large part of why this chapter took so long. It was actually going to be even more complicated and have Neji getting involved, but he'll have to wait in the corner, because he's a jerk.]


	54. Part II, Chapter 17: Breakaway Point

[A/N: Hey guys! If anybody got a weird update notification last night, that was me trying to upload this chapter and then deleting it because the site wasn't working properly and kind of ate it. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter! After everything needed for the next arc is settled, a few things will be rearranged in the last couple chapters, although the content will stay pretty much the same. This chapter picks back up where Chapter 15 left off.]

Chapter 17: Breakaway Point

Holding his blade only a few centimeters above Gaara's chest, Sasuke looked briefly to where Sasori and Deidara stood watching before locking gazes again with Pein's transmitted image. Sasori had moved back to where he had been on the statue's finger for now, and Deidara hadn't moved at all; he didn't look a bit pleased with the way things were going. Sasuke wasn't surprised by that. Since he and Deidara were teammates, if Sasuke turned traitor and defected Deidara was likely to come under suspicion as well.

"What's brought this on so suddenly?" Konan said in an appeasing tone, the first time she had spoken since her image appeared in the cave. "You never were so urgent about it before."

_That's because Itachi hadn't been calling out for me in my dreams before_, Sasuke thought, frustrated at how long this was still taking even though he should have been recognized as having the upper hand by now. "Is three years really so sudden? Come on, tell me!" he continued, resting the point of his sword against Gaara's tunic. "You're making me impatient."

"Very well," Pein said coldly. "I will tell you where your brother is, but don't come back crying if you find he isn't as wonderful as you always believed."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke demanded. "Stop talking in riddles!"

"Your brother has gone to serve Orochimaru."

Sasuke's breath caught as the meaning of Pein's calm statement settled in. "You're lying!" he exclaimed. "Itachi wouldn't do anything like that!"

Even as he voiced the protest, however, Sasuke could feel doubt beginning to press at him. After all, the last time he had seen Itachi was only a short time before Orochimaru's forces had attacked Konoha during the Chuunin exams. Itachi had been acting strange then; he had left Sasuke without giving him any good reason why, and besides all that there was the dark chakra Sasuke had felt on him and the fang-marks on his wrist.

Still, considering what he had heard of Orochimaru during his stay in Konoha (as well as some more from Sasori, since Orochimaru had been a member of the Akatsuki in the past), Sasuke couldn't imagine Itachi associating willingly with someone like that.

"Do you really imagine you know him that well?" Pein continued in the same hatefully calm voice. "He already murdered your family, after all, so why shouldn't he join another traitor to Konoha?"

"What?...You don't possibly think I'll believe that about him, do you?" Sasuke argued, trying to hide how shaken he was at Pein's new revelation. _He's lying. He's got to be lying. There's no way it's true. Itachi wouldn't do that. Would he? I won't believe it. He couldn't possibly..._

"You tell me," Pein retorted. "You know the sort of things he did to support the two of you. You know he never told you what happened to the Uchiha. You know—"

"_Shut up!_" Sasuke shouted. "Enough of this, I'm done. I'm done with all of you, I'm through!"

"Suit yourself," Pein replied with a shrug. "But since it looks as if you feel like leaving anyway, I'll do you one last favor. You'll find your brother in one of Orochimaru's outposts, outside the northern border of Fire Country. Well, if he hasn't already left to attack Konoha, that is. It seems he wasn't satisfied with your family and he's going after your friends now…"

By this point Sasuke couldn't suppress his anger any longer and flung a spread of kunai at Pein's projected image, but it vanished before the weapons reached it, leaving him unsatisfied. The images of the other members faded in turn, leaving only Sasori and Deidara standing on the statue, as well as Gaara still lying unconscious at Sasuke's feet.

_Well, _Sasuke thought, looking down at his one-time friend,_ I can't leave the Akatsuki on much worse terms than I already have, so I might as well make the most of it._

…...

"Come on, Sensei, why can't we just go in and take them out?" Naruto whined.

"I told you, Naruto, that's not what our mission is," Kakashi reminded him. "We're observing and waiting for the Suna shinobi to arrive, then we will hang back and let them handle it because if Tsunade find out I let you within three miles of the Akatsuki she'll probably demote me to cat-catching for a year. And you too, probably, for sneaking out and joining us even though you knew you weren't supposed to."

Naruto shuddered at the thought. "Observing it is, then. Those Suna people better get here soon, though, or else—"

Naruto and Kakashi paused to look at each other in confusion as a series of tremors rocked the tree they were perched in. "What was that?" Naruto said, looking back at the blocked-off cave in the river canyon just as a series of explosions blew it open, revealing three figures in Akatsuki cloaks.

"Ssh!" Kakashi commanded quickly, leaning forward in the tree and pushing a branch aside so he could see better.

_Looks like the Akatsuki aren't all getting along so well,_ he realized as he took in what was going on. Two of the Akatsuki—the blond one he'd met before in the library raid, and a red-haired boy he didn't recognize—were chasing a third, who was slightly hampered by a heavy, fabric-wrapped bundle he was carrying.

"Hey, that's Gaara he's got!" Naruto whispered a bit too loudly in Kakashi's ear.

"So it is," Kakashi agreed, recognizing the 'bundle' for what it actually was now. "Okay, new plan: I'll go see what's up. You stay here and make a report to the Suna trackers."

"But—"

"Stay," Kakashi ordered again before dropping down from the tree to get closer to the canyon where the three Akatsuki were fighting.

The two pursuers were mounted on a large white bird, which Kakashi recognized as a Deidara clan clay technique. While he didn't know the other one, he had some idea who they were chasing, which made him a bit reluctant to go too close. Still, all of them seemed too occupied with what they were doing at the moment to take any notice of an observer.

The fugitive Akatsuki was afoot, but making relatively good time even burdened by carrying another person. The canyon was criss-crossed with a large number of fallen trees, and while these made it hard for those in pursuit to make headway, the logs both shielded the runaway and served as stepping stones for him to make quick progress.

Kakashi was still positioned well ahead of the Akatsuki, so he worked his way closer to the edge in order to get a good vantage point before they passed. The tall grass and scrub lining the top of the canyon made it easy for Kakashi to hide himself, but while he was moving through it his view of the canyon itself was cut off.

Once Kakashi reached his vantage point, he pushed the grass down in order to see, only to realize that while there still looked to be the same number of people in the canyon, he could tell with the sharingan that one of them had been replaced with a clone in the short time he'd not been looking. _And of course it would be the one I least wanted to lose track of,_ he grumbled to himself as he scanned among the logs for a sign of the missing person. _I really hope he's still down there instead of_—a crunch of grass interrupted Kakashi's inner monologue and he sighed inwardly. —_right behind me. Well, that's just great. I was really fancying having another mental breakdown right about now anyway._

Taking out a spread of kunai, Kakashi whirled around into a kneeling position, flinging the blades at where he had heard the crunch in the same motion.

The boy (Kakashi was fairly sure it was a boy now, judging by what he could estimate was under the Akatsuki cloak) ducked all but one of them cleanly, and half-dropped Gaara to grab the last before it could slice through the fabric strips that dangled from his hat and hid his face.

"Hello again," Kakashi said, uncomfortably aware of the disadvantageous position he was in but making sure not to show it. There was only the canyon behind him and very little room to move, and he knew from experience that his adversary needed very little opening to use whatever technique he had last time. "What's this all about?"

The boy took a step back as Kakashi stood fully. "Creative differences," he said curtly, in a slightly husky tone as if he was trying to disguise his voice. "I'll leave this with you," he added, laying Gaara on the ground in front of Kakashi and beginning to turn away.

"Sure," Kakashi said in some confusion at the sudden lack of animosity from the stranger as compared to the last time they had run into each other. "Who are you?" he asked finally. _There are plenty of people who might hold a grudge against me. A relative of Rin's gone renegade, maybe? Or someone from Iwa with bad memories of the war?_

Half-turning, the boy looked back at Kakashi through the screening fabric falling from his hat, and for a moment Kakashi thought he might actually get an answer. Then the moment was broken as a bright orange blur left the tree cover and threw several shuriken at the Akatsuki fugitive.

"Leave Kakashi-sensei alone!" Naruto shouted, but there was little meaning in it since the Akatsuki boy had already vanished, leaving Kakashi wondering whether he had been there in the first place or engineered the entire encounter through genjutsu.

"I told you to stay out of sight, Naruto!" Kakashi snapped.

"But I didn't want you to get hurt again—" Naruto began.

"That's my job," Kakashi reminded him. "But right now, _your_ job was to stay out of sight and you didn't do it, did you?"

Naruto looked a bit surprised at being spoken to so harshly, and Kakashi quickly softened. "Look, if one of us is going to get hurt I don't want it to be you. Now take Gaara and let's get away before the other Akatsuki realize what just happened over here."

Naruto obediently picked up the Kazekage—who was unconscious but looked otherwise unharmed—and followed Kakashi back into the cover of the trees.

…

_So, that's Gaara taken care of, _Sasuke thought as he leaped back into the canyon, now well behind the clay bird being ridden by Deidara and Sasori._ Those two should be occupied by my clone for a while, so I guess I'm done with the Akatsuki now._

It felt a little strange to be free of the organization he'd worked for for three years so suddenly. While he had certainly planned to cut ties with the Akatsuki at some point, he hadn't thought it would be so soon or under these circumstances. Running into Kakashi yet again had also shaken him a bit, as had Naruto's sudden appearance. It had been years since he had seen his former teammate, and when Naruto had burst out of the trees Sasuke had barely kept himself from calling out a greeting. Of course that wouldn't do, so he had used a genjutsu to divert the two Konoha ninjas' attention while he got away.

"No more reminiscing," Sasuke told himself as he headed north, back up the canyon. "I have something more important to do now: find out whether Pein was lying about Itachi and Orochimaru."

_Of course he was lying,_ Sasuke told himself, although not as confidently as he tried to convince himself he was. _He had to be. He_ had_ to be. If he wasn't—_

Sasuke wouldn't even let himself consider what he would do if it had been the truth.


End file.
